Life With A Road Trip
by Kallie Lynne
Summary: Casey and Derek head off on a one month long road trip, their final destination UCLA. What new feelings will arise as Casey and Derek tour The United States? [Slight OC, only because it take place two to three years in the future][COMPLETE!]
1. Start of an Adventure

**Hi everyone! I thought I'd write another fic, and I'm currently obsessing over LWD, so here you go! It takes place about two or three years in the future, so Derek and Casey have changed a little. Derek is more mature now, but still the same old Derek in a way. SO, I'm sorry if it's a little OC. Enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Life With Derek, or UCLA, or anything except the plot.**

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Casey looked around at her soon-to-be-empty room. Just looking at the few boxes and bags that remained gave her chills. She rubbed her arms, in an attempt to get rid of the goose bumps. She looked out her door, to see how Derek was with his room. She needed his help to bring the boxes out to the moving truck.

And as if he knew she needed his help, Derek walked into her room. "Okay, all my stuff is in the truck. Is this all you have left?" Derek pointed to the four or five boxes remaining and started to lift one of them. Ever since getting accepted to college on a hockey scholarship, Derek had been acting very strangely. He was no longer loud and obnoxious; he was quieter and actually helpful, but at the same time, he was still Derek.

"Yeah, this is it. Can you believe we're going to college tomorrow?" Casey laughed a little at the thought.

"I can believe we're going to college. What I _can't _believe is that we're going to the same college." Derek exhaled as he lifted two boxes at once and hobbled down the stairs. It was extremely unbelievable, that Derek, the slacker, and Casey, the workaholic, were both accepted to UCLA. Casey, of course, was accepted for her excellent grades and perfect record. Casey stared at the spot where Derek was just standing, shook her head with a smile, then picked up one of the lighter boxes.

Casey slowly made her way down the stairs, trying not to trip or fall. The box was probably the lightest weighing box out of all of them, and yet, her arms got weaker when she was halfway down the steps. The box started slipping, and naturally, Casey tried to stop it. This caused Casey to trip over her own two feet, making the medium sized cardboard box to fly down the rest of the steps, spilling its contents across the living room.

Casey stood up and looked at the now broken box. She sighed, and looked to see if anyone saw what happened. _No one in the kitchen or the living room, _she thought. She looked at the front door, which was held open the whole morning by a chair so Derek and Casey could easily get in and out, only to see Derek himself standing there. He looked as if he was trying to contain his laughter. Casey ignored him and rolled her eyes. She walked over to her things and started picking them up.

Derek bent down to pick up a picture frame that fell by the door. It was a picture of Casey with her dad. She looked a lot like him. She looked so happy, free, almost. Derek traced his finger over Casey when Casey grabbed the picture frame away from him.

"What are you doing?" Casey held the picture close to her body.

"What does it look like?" Derek said plainly. "I was going to help you clean up, but it looks like you don't want my help." Casey rolled her eyes once more and continued to pick up various items from her old house. She had kept them all in her closet for times when she needed a reminder of what her old life was like. She pushed the memories away and put everything back in the box. Derek went upstairs to get more boxes.

A half hour later, both Casey and Derek's boxes were packed into the truck that would take them all the way to UCLA. Their belongings would be waiting for them when they arrived. Casey and Derek's entire family was gathered around them, waiting to say goodbye. Casey got emotional and started crying. She hugged Lizzie, Marti, Edwin, George and finally Nora.

"Casey, I know you want to be independent and away from home, but I want you to know that you'll always have a home with us." Nora spoke softly.

"Thanks, mom. That means a lot." Casey managed to say, in between sobs. Then she lightened up and turned to Lizzie, Edwin and Marti. "And don't worry. I'll send gifts from California!" Casey smiled and turned to Derek, so he could say goodbye.

"See ya, Ed. Good luck with the ladies!" Derek high-fived him, then picked Marti up and spun her around. "Bye, Smarti! Have fun at school, okay?" Derek muffled her hair and smiled. Marti yelled an, 'Okay, Smerek' and ran into the house. Even though Marti was a few years older now and a bit more mature, Derek continued their tradition of calling each other 'Smarti' and 'Smerek'. It was funnier that way. Derek said goodbye to everyone else, hugged his dad, and then opened the driver's door. Casey hugged Nora once more, then got in the passenger's side.

Derek and Casey had gotten their parents to buy them a car over the summer. Casey picked the color and the interior, and Derek picked the actual car. It didn't take much convincing to get George and Nora to buy it for them. Their parents were so pleased that Casey and Derek were both attending a wonderful college, and surprised that Derek even got into college, that when Casey and Derek politely explained why a car would be helpful, they agreed.

Once Casey shut her door and they both said their goodbyes, Derek backed out of the shared driveway and drove off, headed for their road trip. They were going to go the long way, stopping in New York, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Florida, Arizona, and ending in Los Angeles. They could complete the entire trip in about a month, which was perfect, since school started in five weeks.

Casey sat next to Derek, holding a box of tissues and a worn out looking teddy bear. "And I remember my very first day of high school. I was so excited, not nervous at all!" Casey reminisced to Derek. Derek just kept his eyes on the road, nodding and rolling his eyes. "Do you remember the day I moved in to your house? I was a wreck. I was in the car ride over crying the entire time. Sort of like now!" Casey squeaked the last part out and blew her nose. "This is all like a dream, you know? A few years ago, I would have never imagined that you would be driving _both_ of us to college. In California!" Casey threw her hands in the air for dramatic effect.

"Believe me, Case. I **never **would have imagined driving both of us to college, or anywhere for that matter." Casey smiled smugly, shook her head and looked out the window. This was the start of an adventure.


	2. He Had An Accident?

**Thank you so much for reviewing! **

**x0xUndiscoveredx: Don't worry, I wont forget about this! I'm pretty excited that I'm writing another fic, so I'll write a few chapters every night.**

**These first two chapters were just the intro, sort of. Next chapter will start with them actually in the cities mentioned in chapter one. So review, and I'll post the next one soon!**

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_Bump. Bump. Bump. Bump. _Casey's head lifted slightly off the window every few seconds as the car drove over the worn out highway. Derek was driving at a moderate speed, so Casey calculated that they should arrive in upstate New York in an hour. She sighed at the thought. Ever since leaving the house, Derek had only said a few words to her. Casey resorted to her iPod in order to keep sane.

"Derek, where are we now?" Casey said, sitting up to stretch her back.

"Um, I think we just passed Toronto. We're almost in New York." Derek said nonchalantly.

"We just passed TORONTO?" Casey was sitting straight up now, her whole body turned to Derek.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. It's just, you know. I wanted to visit my old friends, maybe! Or pass by my old apartment!" Casey studied Derek's face to see if he would turn around. He looked like he didn't care. "Derek!" Casey slumped back into her seat, infuriated that they had passed right around Toronto and she didn't even realize it.

Casey tried to forget about Toronto, so she took her headphones out of her ears and plugged her pink iPod into the car stereo. She pushed play and hummed along to the music. Derek stole quick glances at her, the iPod and back to the road. He unplugged her iPod and threw it onto her lap.

"What do you think you're doing? I was listening to that!" Casey plugged it back in.

"In case you haven't noticed, I don't want to listen to you're girl music!" Derek unplugged it again. They went on like this for a few more minutes; with Derek taking his eyes off the road for a few more seconds each time he unplugged her iPod.

The car started swerving in and out of the lane, a few cars honking. Casey realized what could happen and left her iPod unplugged, but Derek snatched it from her lap anyway and drove them both off the road.

"Oh my gosh! Derek! Stop the car!" Casey reached over to Derek and held onto his arm that was resting next to his body. Derek clenched his teeth together and gripped the steering wheel. The car was fully on the grass now, and finally stopped just inches away from a tree. When it stopped, the only noise that Casey could hear was the purring of the engine.

Derek took a deep breath and looked at his arm that Casey grabbed. It was red and had a handprint engraved onto it. Casey gave Derek an "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to" look and then got out of the car to see if there was any damage. There was a tiny, insignificant scratch where a branch had hit it, but nothing else. They were safe.

"Are you okay, Case?" Derek asked as they both buckled up again and started driving.

"I think so. We really shouldn't be fighting while you drive. We were lucky that we didn't damage the car." She paused for a moment. "Or ourselves." She looked at Derek. "Are _you_ okay?"

"Yeah. Except for my arm." He said sarcastically. Casey laughed a little, even though it wasn't really funny.

_How could this be? _She thought. _Me and Derek, getting along?_

They continued to laugh and tell stupid jokes until they spotted a green and white sign.

**Welcome to New York**

**The Empire State**

"We're here! Finally!" Casey rolled down her window to smell the fresh, upstate New York air. They drove through customs **(I don't know if you really need to do that, or not.) **and onto the New York highway. It was getting dark out, but Casey had come up with a plan.

Once it was completely dark outside, Casey would switch places with Derek and drive them to New York City. Derek drove for another half hour when they pulled over to switch seats.

When Casey started driving, she saw that Derek was falling asleep. His eyes were slowly shutting and his head fell onto the side, facing her. He was cute, in his own way. Casey had to stop herself from staring to keep her eyes on the road. She liked driving at night. It was calming, knowing that there were less people on the road to avoid.

Eight long, dreary hours later, Casey parallel parked the car in front of their hotel in Times Square. They would be staying here for four days, then driving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for another four days. Casey nudged Derek softly to wake him up.

"Welcome to Times Square, Derek!" Casey said in her sweetest tone. "**Now help me with our bags!**" She ordered. What? She had just driven eight hours. She was bound to be cranky!


	3. Day 1 in New York

**Thanks for so many reviews! Sorry it's taking a while for me to post the next chapters…I guess I'm just really busy! I have to practice my flute for NYSSMA and SCMEA, which takes a lot of work…so I'm sorry- again!**

**And also, I don't own anything in New York City, or anything that they do…sorry!**

**Anyway, here you go!**

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**Day 1 in New York**

New York was better than Casey had expected. It was so beautiful at night, and it really did never sleep. And that was the problem.

Casey rolled out of her warm bed, rubbed her eyes and looked at the bed next to hers. Derek was curled up in a ball under his blankets, with a small smile on his face. Casey laughed softly, causing Derek to shift his position. Casey didn't want to wake him, or explain why she was standing there staring at him at -she looked at the clock- 3:45 in the morning. She couldn't sleep, so she figured she could go down to the lobby and get some snacks.

The elevator ride was fairly short and Casey slowly walked over to the all night buffet and picked out her favorite foods. She grabbed a bottle of water, a bag of chips and a mini cup of chocolate ice cream and went through the glass doors. There were cute lattice tables outside of the hotel where Casey sat. It was, in a way, peaceful. Even though the city was still wide awake, buzzing with couples going to and fro.

She munched on her chips and looked around. There was a couple on the corner, in what seemed like a deep, passionate relationship, displaying their affection towards each other with a sloppy kiss. There were couples holding hands coming out of a noisy building down the road. Everywhere Casey looked, people were enjoying the company of another. All but herself.

Casey then thought about Derek, fast asleep in their room. Then she had an idea.

"Hi, I'm Casey. And this is my boyfriend, Derek." She pretended to introduce them to nonexistent people. What was she thinking? Derek is her stepbrother, for crying out loud.

"What did you just say?" Casey spun around in her seat, only to see Derek standing there with a steaming Styrofoam cup in his hands. She stammered until audible words came out of her mouth.

"Uh, um, I, your…I was just saying how you were my roommate for the road trip." She stood up; leaving her snacks on the table and ran inside to the elevator. Derek stood there, staring at the table that once was occupied by his stepsister.

_Did she say I was her boyfriend?_ Derek shook the thought out of his head and drank his hot chocolate.

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Casey woke up with a slight headache as the sun shone through the window. She had to remind herself where she was before actually getting out of bed. When she did get up, Derek rolled over and blinked his eyes. Casey's heart skipped a beat, but she just ignored it and went in the bathroom to shower and get dressed.

About ten minutes into her shower, Casey heard banging on the door. She knew exactly who it was.

"Casey, come on! There is another person here who needs to shower too, you know!" Derek shouted over the loud shower. Casey rolled her eyes and lathered her hair with some sweet smelling shampoo. Another ten minutes later, she finally emerged from the bathroom. Derek was shirtless, rummaging through his suitcase, which he never unpacked.

"Okay, you can shower now." Casey said, putting a charm bracelet on. She loved that bracelet. She had charms from her first dance recital, when she graduated elementary school, some from her birthdays and some that her friends from Toronto gave her.

"Too late, I already showered." Derek simply stated. He looked up from his pile of clothes. His eyes lingered on Casey and extra two seconds before returning back to his suitcase.

"How? Where? I was in our only bathroom." He looked up, looking annoyed at her constant questions.

"Next door. There's some hot chicks over there that were _extremely _willing to let me shower in their room." Derek went back to looking for who knows what in his suitcase while Casey packed her purse. She had money, the tickets for the Broadway show they were going to see, her cell phone, and other necessary items.

As always, Casey had made a schedule for all of the cities. New York's plan was jam packed with activities until they had to leave. Today, they were going to see RENT on Broadway, then out to the Hard Rock Café for lunch. Afterwards, they would go to the top of the Empire State Building for some sightseeing. She had heard you could see Connecticut from the top if it was a clear day. Lucky for them, it was a beautiful day out.

"Derek! Come on! We're going to be late to the show!" Casey pulled him up from the floor, threw a shirt that was laying on the dresser at him and stormed out of their room.

"Thanks, Case! I was looking for this shirt!" He laughed and locked the door. When he got outside to their car, she was already in the driver's seat, ready to go. He didn't really want to see RENT, but he couldn't think of anything better to see, so she had bought two tickets.

The traffic was backed up all the way until their destination, but luckily they still had time before the show started when they arrived. She parked the car and walked into the air-conditioned building.

People were everywhere inside, buying tickets, chatting with friends. Derek stopped to absorb everything around him. He started to feel claustrophobic with the crowd surrounding him. Casey noticed.

"Derek, are you coming, or not?" Casey had a program and his ticket in her hand. He jogged to Casey and they both went in. Their seats were fairly close to the stage, but not so much that you would have to crane your neck back to see the actors. They were sitting in the cushioned seats for about ten minutes when the lights dimmed and the pit orchestra began playing.

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A few hours and a pocket pack of Kleenex later, Casey and Derek walked into their car, their stomachs grumbling. "Let's get some food! I'm STARVING!" Derek put his hands behind his head and yawned.

"Derek, did RENT even affect you? At all? It was so emotional, so deep! And all you care about is eating!" Casey wiped her tear-stained cheek and looked at the directions she printed to get to the Hard Rock Café. Derek looked like he was going to sleep, so Casey punched his arm. He was so immature.

They parked their car on the curb in front of the Hard Rock Café and quickly went inside. Casey had to admit, she was starving too.

"Table for two, please." Casey told the girl working at the front door. The girl looked a little older then Casey and Derek, but she kept eyeing Derek. Derek winked at her and smiled. Casey felt a surge of jealousy and anger towards the girl, who had introduced herself as Kelly.

_Stop it Casey! There is no reason to feel this way. Derek will never go out with her, she's too old. Wait, what am I thinking? Who cares what Derek does?_

Kelly seated them in a booth and handed them menus. Casey picked out some pasta combo while Derek got his usual hamburger with lettuce and tomato. Their waiter came over, and luckily, it was a man. He looked around thirty-something years old. He took their drink and meal orders and left Casey and Derek to talk.

"So, what's on the agenda next?" Derek put his elbows on the table and leaned in, looked slightly interested.

"Well, I thought we could go to the Empire State Building. It's a nice day out, and that's the best time to go."

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They finished their lunch, which was delicious in Casey's opinion, and drove to the Empire State Building. Derek slowly got out of the car and followed Casey inside the building. Casey took out the money that they were charged to go up and led Derek to the line for the elevator. Derek looked around nervously, trying not to let his worried expression show.

"Derek, is something wrong?" Casey noticed.

"N-nothing's wrong. Why do you ask?" Derek's voice got squeaky.

"No reason…" Casey looked at him, and then led him into the crowded elevator that had just arrived. The elevator ride was extremely fast, but the whole time Derek had his fists clenched together. They reached the top and everyone piled out. Derek took one step out and refused to move.

"Derek, what is wrong? First you look all nervous, and now you won't move? You can claim nothing is wrong, but I do know you Derek. Something's bothering you." Casey folded her arms and waited for him to say something. It was almost like a staring contest, because Casey stared at Derek until he finally gave in.

"Okay, fine. I am…" Derek rolled his eyes and sighed. "Afraid of heights. There, are you happy now?" Derek turned away from Casey. He never admitted he had a weakness, to anyone. So why had he just told Casey, of all people? Casey walked over to him and put her arm around him, which surprised him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to help you overcome your fear. Come on!" Casey walked Derek slowly over to the railing, never taking her arm off of him. She knew it was wrong to be this close to her stepbrother, but she felt bad for him. "See, this isn't that bad. Derek, what are you doing?" Derek pulled out a penny from his pocket and stuck his arm though the bars in the railing. "Derek!" Casey pushed him away from the edge and took the penny from him.

_Just when I thought we were getting along, he goes and does something stupid like this._

"Come on, I want to get a souvenir." Casey went inside the small shop and picked out a t-shirt and a key chain.

"Your total is $20.50." Casey hated souvenir shops. Everything was so expensive. Casey paid the lady and headed towards the elevator. Derek was somehow already waiting there, so they both went down. Derek decided to drive back to their hotel, since Casey had driven everywhere else today. He looked at her sitting in the passenger's seat. The sun was setting and it glowed over her face. _Stop looking at her like that, Derek. _He thought. He tried to cover up his feelings and asked her,

"Well, day one in New York is over. What are we doing tomorrow?"


	4. Days 2, 3 and 4 in New York

**Okay, I am so sorry for not updating in almost forever! I am officially on mid-winter break now so I'll update more often now. But the chapters wont be as detailed, since that obviously takes too much time.**

** I don't own The New York Public Library, The Museum of Natural History, or Imax. And I especially don't own Life With Derek.  
**

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"What are we doing tomorrow?" Derek asked. They arrived at their hotel as the sun just about set. The sky over their heads was dark, but when they looked out to the east, it was a light purple.

"I planned on going to the Statue of Liberty. It will take up most of the day. We can go out to lunch too." Casey said quietly, and then added, "If you want." She didn't want to seem too eager to spend time with him. Because, she certainly did NOT want to. Well, that's what she was trying to tell herself.

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Casey got up early the next morning so she could get ready. She had purchased their Circle Line Ferry tickets while still at home in Canada to ensure their spots on the boat. They had the first boat to Ellis Island, which would be departing at 9:30 AM from Battery State Park.

She had a huge tote bag that she began to fill up with necessary items. Digital camera for herself and one for Derek, two hats incase it was too hot outside, sunscreen, water bottles, her pocketbook, and other things that would help them get through the summer heat. It took her about a half hour to pack her bag, and yet Derek was still sound asleep. She took this opportunity of silence to catch up on some reading. She brought a bunch of novels with her for the long car rides when she wasn't driving.

She was about fifteen pages into her book when there was a knock on the hotel room door. Confused, Casey got up to get it, since Derek was still sleeping. She was going to have to wake him up soon if he continued to sleep. She peered through the little hole in the door to see who could be here this early.

When Casey opened the door, she gasped. Sam was standing with his hands in his pockets, smiling. "Hi, Casey. I- um. Can I come in?" Sam was very jumpy; almost like he was nervous. Casey stepped out of the way and let her ex-boyfriend inside. He walked in and went straight to sit on her bed. _Thank goodness I made it early today _Casey thought with a sigh.

"So, what are you doing here? In New York?" Then she slowly added, "In my hotel room?"

"I was a back up for my hockey team for the East Coast finals, and one of the guys got the flu, so they put me in! The game is here in New York, so I thought I would stop by. Is – is that alright?" Sam was cautious when he spoke, as if he was afraid to say the wrong thing.

"That's great! Good luck at the game, I know you'll win!" Casey regretted saying that with such enthusiasm. She sounded like she wanted to get back together with him. "So, what are you up to today?" Sam stood up.

"I was going to ask you that. Are you free?"

"Well, me and Derek were going to the Statue of Liberty. You're welcome to join us, but you'll need to buy a ferry ticket. Derek and I already have ours." Casey felt bad for Sam. He clearly had nothing to do. She wasn't going to just let him leave by himself.

"I was sort of hoping you and me could, you know, do something." Just as he said this, Derek sat up groggily. Casey suddenly had a plan, but she knew she'd feel guilty about it later.

"Derek, uh, Sam is going to go in your place to the Statue of Liberty, since you didn't want to go in the first place." Casey folded her hands, satisfied. Derek looked back and forth from Casey and Sam and then rolled his eyes and went back to sleep. "Alright then! Let's go!"

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Casey and Sam spent the entire day on Ellis Island, taking pictures, laughing, and just having a great time. It felt extremely refreshing to be standing in the middle of the tiny island. Casey felt as if she was in the center of the world, or the city, perhaps.

Six hours and a thousand laughs later, Casey and Sam were sitting on the ferry on their way back to the main land. Casey's cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

"Today was so much fun, Sam. I'm glad you came." She looked over at him.

"I know. I missed spending so much time with you." Casey's heart melted as the words came out of his mouth. She couldn't start having feelings for him again.

They exited the ferry once it docked and got into Sam's car. It wasn't long before Casey found herself looking at her hotel. Her and Derek would be checking out in two days, so she wanted to take advantage of the wonderful amenities that were a part of the hotel.

"Sam, how would you like to come swimming with me? I hear there's a slide." She smiled. The hotel had an indoor heated pool with a slide. She was going swimming with or without him. He nodded and followed her up to her room. She figured Sam would fit into one of Derek's bathing suits. Casey slid her key pass through the lock and opened the door, only to find Derek making out with a blonde-haired girl.

"DEREK!" Casey screamed. Derek pushed the girl off and jumped up.

"Uh, Casey. What are you doing back so early?" He smoothed his hair down and straightened his shirt.

"The ferry was a little early. And we'd thought we would all go swimming, then maybe get some ice cream. But I see you're busy." Casey said, a little hurt. She knew Derek never really liked her, and yet, she was almost heartbroken now. The blonde started packing up her things, constantly staring at Casey.

"Derek, I shouldn't be here. Your girlfriend looks really upset." The girl said, opening the door. "Goodbye."

"Wait, she's not my-" The door slammed shut on Derek's attempts to get the blonde back. "Great. She was a great kisser too." Derek sighed.

"Derek, this trip was supposed to be just you and…" Casey stopped herself before she said 'me'. "Well, you're not supposed to bring ditzy girls into this trip. This is my hotel room too, you know." Derek just stared at her. The room was silent for a few seconds before Sam spoke.

"So, who's up for some night swimming?"

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"Derek. Derek get up. Derek, now!" Casey shook the lump underneath the mess of blankets until she saw he was getting up.

"What do you want? I'm sleeping, if you didn't notice." He went back under the covers.

"Derek! It's two in the afternoon, and I want to go! We have a lot to do today!" Casey pulled the blankets off the bed. Derek was in his boxers and a t-shirt. Casey could actually understand why Derek was so tired. Last night, they were all up late swimming, laughing and saying goodbye to Sam. Casey was sorry to let him leave, but she knew she could never get back together with him. It was like Derek remembering to do his homework. It just couldn't happen.

_Man, he has great legs. _Casey tried pushing the thought out of her head but failed, as Derek got out of bed and stretched. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier? I was up so late last night that you knew I wouldn't get up until at least three today." He smiled.

"Well, Derek, I'm not going to act like your mother. You have to get yourself up sometimes. Now move it! I have a lot planned for today." Casey had been waiting for day three in New York since she planned this trip.

Fifteen minutes later, Derek and Casey got into their car and were headed off to The Public Library, and the Museum of Natural History. Casey loved the educational experience that she could get from these two buildings.

The Public Library is incredibly beautiful. Casey thought as she walked through the different rooms. 

_Man, this is incredibly boring! _Was what was going through Derek's mind as they walked around.

After a long two hours in the Public library, Casey and Derek headed off to the Museum of Natural History. Casey was extremely excited; she had researched it so much back home and came to the conclusion that this museum would be a perfect attraction to visit. Well, perfect for her, anyway.

"What are we doing at a _museum? _Museums aren't fun!" Derek complained.

"This isn't just a regular museum. There's much more things to do here. So stop complaining, Derek." Casey wasn't completely back to 'normal' with Derek. She was a little hurt when Derek was with the other girl.

The entered the museum and walked quickly over to the butterfly conservatory. That was the first stop on their 'to-do list' Casey made up. They were also going to the planetarium, an Imax movie, and visit some of the other exhibits that they happened to stumble across.

The butterfly conservatory was so beautiful. When a pretty blue butterfly landed on Casey's shoulder, she didn't need to ask Derek to take a picture. He was way ahead of her.

"Casey, that butterfly is really gross!" Derek laughed, but took a picture of Casey smiling with the butterfly relaxing on her shoulder.

"Nah, it's really pretty. The color of it is so unique!" She turned her head so she could see it. Derek couldn't stop staring at her. _The way her hair is blowing and the way she's smiling is driving me crazy…I have to stop thinking like this!_

After the butterflies, Derek went to pick out an Imax movie. They wound up seeing Roving Mars, which Derek loved but Casey thought was boring.

Then it was time to go to the planetarium. Derek was looking forward to the dark room. He needed to catch up on some sleep, he told himself. They entered the air-conditioned dome and took their seats. Before they knew it, they were looking at a man-made night sky. Casey's eyes sparkled with the reflections of the stars.

Forty-five minutes later, Casey and Derek left the Museum of Natural history; both exhausted. Casey drove to the hotel and took a long shower. When she got out, she found Derek watching something funny on the television. She laid in her bed and watched whatever it was Derek was watching until she dozed off to sleep.

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"Casey, rise and shine!" Derek said, a little too loud, ripping the blankets off Casey. "Today's going to be a great day, so get a move on it!"

"Derek!" Casey whined. She wasn't planning on getting up anytime soon. Today was going to be relaxing. Just some shopping before driving to Pennsylvania. "We don't need to get up so early, you know." She slowly trudged out of bed and made her way to the bathroom.

"Oh, really? I guess you don't want to go shopping then?" Derek said, awfully cheery.

"Derek, what is _wrong_ with you? Since when do you want to shop?"

"Never. I just know how much you like to shop. So, are we going, or not?"

"Yeah, we're going." Casey smiled at Derek. He had become so much more mature these past few months. Maybe it was the thought of going to college that changed him, or maybe it was the fact that he was going to be living somewhat on his own. But whatever it was, Casey couldn't help liking the 'new' Derek. Of course she would never admit that.

Derek and Casey went in and out of various stores. Derek bought mainly hockey items, while Casey came out of the stores with clothes and jewelry.

"Uh, Case? I'm just gonna go in here by myself. It's a…a guy thing. You understand, right?" Casey looked at the store Derek was pointing to. It was very sporty looking. Casey would have no problem shopping on her own for a few minutes. She walked into the store next door to the one Derek was in and started shopping.

Meanwhile, Derek made sure Casey was in her store, so he could walk across the street to the jewelry store.

Whispering, he said, "I'm looking for a charm. It's for…this girl. Maybe something with the statue of liberty, or something. Because she really likes the city." The man behind the glass counter nodded and pulled out a tray filled with tiny gold and silver charms.

"She would like this one." Derek picked up a charm and quickly paid. He hurried back across the busy street to find Casey just coming out of the store.

"That store wasn't really my style." Derek looked in the window and saw black, punk clothes everywhere. He laughed unexpectedly.

"Ready to leave the Big Apple?"

"I guess so. I just feel there's so much more that could have happened." Casey sighed and looked at the ground.

_You have no idea what I wished could have happened. _Derek blushed at the thought. _Stop it, Derek. _

So, after four days filled with flirting, shopping, learning and fun-filled memories, Derek and Casey drove towards their next destination: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Who knows what could happen when a city with history and great sports meets Derek and Casey!


	5. Day 1 in Philadelphia

**I'm _so_ sorry for not updating in a few weeks. I had so many things going on, and I still do. But I feel really bad that I'm keeping you waiting, so I'm going to post this chapter, which contains day one of Philly. I don't really know Philadelphia that well, so it wont be that good…anyway, enjoy!**

**---------------------------------------------------------♥**

"How many more minutes? I'm really starting to hate these long car rides." Derek complained like a child for the hundredth time that morning. They had gotten up extra early to get a head start towards Philadelphia.

"Derek, this is only the second city. We have plenty more of the long rides ahead of us. And besides, you don't like spending time with me?" Casey said, half joking. Derek didn't respond, so there was an awkward silence for a few minutes. Derek tapped his fingers on the armrest impatiently. He tapped his foot on the floor so his entire leg was moving.

"Derek, can you please stop fidgeting! You're making me nervous!" Casey gripped the wheel tighter and gave a sigh of relief when she saw a sign ahead.

**Welcome to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania **

**The Keystone State**

Around 2:30 in the afternoon, Casey parked their car in their new hotel parking lot and went to check in. The sweet summer air blew against Casey's loose ponytail, causing some hair to slip out. Casey checked them both in and dragged her suitcase into the elevator. "Derek, push ten." Casey looked at him. He just stared at her. "It's our floor number." _Man, how can someone so cute be so stupid? _Casey wondered. _Oh no, now I'm going crazy. I just thought Derek was cute…_

Once reaching their hotel room suite, Casey took out her planning folder to check off the ride to Philly. Derek came over and sat down next to Casey on the bed.

"What's on the agenda chief?" Derek saluted to Casey. She stared at him momentarily before proudly reciting what they would be doing the next four days. A few things caught his attention, like going to a Phillies game and eating all those Philly Cheese steaks. But the rest of the list seemed to drag on forever. Casey booked a lot of historical tours and planned on going to more museums. But He had no choice; Casey was dragging him everywhere. Lucky for him, today they were going shopping for souvenirs, so he could accomplish the next step of his idea. He wasn't sure why he was even bothering with it, but something inside him told him he would like the outcome.

"So, is that okay, Derek?" The question brought Derek out of his thoughts.

"Uh, yeah. Erm, sure, whatever." Derek looked confused.

"Okay then…" Casey stretched out the 'okay'. "Well, we should get a good night sleep tonight if we're going sailing tomorrow morning!" Casey clapped her hands together and walked into the bathroom to put her toiletries on the sink.

_Sailing?_ Derek thought. _What did I agree to?_

Casey came back from the bathroom looking freshened up. "Ready to go?" She grabbed her pocketbook and walked out. Derek offered to drive to the street name listed on the paper Casey had.

_South Street. Sounds cheesy. Like a cheese steak. Mmmmmm. Cheesesteak. _Derek thought while looking for a street sign indicating where a South Street was. He saw the small green sign, turned down the road and parked the car next to the sidewalk. He got out, stretched and sighed.

"Where are you going to shop first? Because I have somewhere special to go." Casey gave him a strange look. "You know, more hockey business." He explained.

"Well, I want some Philadelphia souvenirs and I could always use some new flip flops or maybe I could get a charm for my charm bracelet!" Derek's face dropped.

"Ugh, no! You can go get flip-flop souvenirs…I'll just go to my hockey…store…thing. Meet me back here at four thirty! Bye!" Derek shouted the last part as he ran down the busy sidewalk, leaving a confused Casey standing by herself.

Derek gave a sigh of relief after walking into the cool, air-conditioned building. He walked right up to the clear glass counter and waited for someone working to help him.

"Can I get you anything today, sir?" A young woman asked him.

"Yeah, I'm looking for a charm for my- my girlfriend's charm bracelet. Something that represents Philadelphia." Derek couldn't believe he called Casey his girlfriend, but the lady didn't know any better. She brought out a black velvet square that was filled with charms. Derek searched through them all, picking out the ones that had potential. He finally decided on a silver one that was shaped like the Liberty Bell and bought it.

He stepped out into the bright sunshine and heat and wandered aimlessly around South Street. He walked in and out of random stores, bought a few things, got some lunch and chatted with a few girls. He was at a confusing point in his life. Here he was buying charms in secrecy for Casey, and then going and talking to any hot girl he could find. _What do you want, Derek Venturi? _He asked himself over and over again.

Meanwhile, Casey sat down at a deli and began to eat by herself. She just ordered a salad with Italian dressing. She was NOT going to eat a Philly Cheese Steak. No matter _what_ Derek said.

She was minding her own business, reading a local newspaper when the other chair at her table screeched across the sidewalk. A man who looked around Casey's age now sat in the chair, his head leaning against his hand. "Look's like you were a little lonely." He smoothly said.

"Thanks, but I'm fine." Casey hinted for him to leave. He obviously wasn't too bright, because he then said, "So, you wanna hang out sometime?" Casey glared at him. He had shaggy, messy dark blond hair with chocolate brown eyes. He wore flip-flops, and a striped shirt with long, baggy shorts that matched his hair. _Well, he is sort of cute._ Casey rolled her eyes.

"Listen, um…" She hesitated.

"Brendan." The boy smiled.

"Brendan. You seem really nice, but I'm on vacation with my… friend. We're leaving in three days. I have to spend every moment with him, because, well, frankly, he likes to wander and get into trouble." Maybe Casey was good at lying after all.

"So, why aren't you with him now?" Casey began to respond when Brendan cut her off. "Whatever. I can take you to the best places around here, or you can sit here by yourself. You choose." They sat there in silence for what felt like an hour before Casey gave in. She followed him a couple of blocks down to his car.

"Uh, I don't know if I should be getting in a car with a stranger." Casey was too smart to do something so stupid.

"Why don't you call your friend? Is she cute? That would be awesome!" He dazed off, thinking about who knows what.

"Oh, she's _adorable._" Casey pulled out her cell phone and dialed Derek's cell phone number. She told him where to meet her, and he arrived ten minutes later. Brendan didn't talk as much the rest of the day once he found out the Casey's friend was a guy. They all got into the car, and Brendan took them to Fairmount Park.

**---------------------------------------------------------♥**

"Wow, what a great day. I never knew about that place!" Casey smiled satisfactorily while snuggling into her bed. The TV shone a blue glow over they tired faces. She had climbed a huge rock formation, jumped off a waterfall, rode a horse through a creek and even attended a concert at sunset. She was glad that Brendan convinced her to come along.

"Yeah." Derek actually had enjoyed himself. But he couldn't help thinking- why had Casey even been talking with this guy? He seemed kind of creepy to him. Or maybe, there was something else bothering Derek.

"Well…goodnight Derek."

"Night, Case." Derek didn't fall asleep for another hour and a half though. There was too much on his mind.


	6. Days 2, 3, and 4 in Philadelphia

**Okay, here it is! I tried to update a little faster this time but my flute solo is a mess, my classes just got a whole lot harder and I'm exhausted. This chapter includes the rest of Philly. Please review, because last time I didn't get as many reviews as I hoped for. Enjoy!**

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Day 2

RIIIINNG! RIIIINGGG!! Casey groggily turned over to find out what time it was that they had a phone call. She read 7:32 AM on her digital clock. Sighing, she answered the loud ringing.

"Hello?" She tried her best to sound awake.

"Good morning, miss. You have a message from a… Brendan. Would you like me to read it?" The lady had a heavy accent; Casey doubted she would understand it.

"No thank you, I'll be down in five minutes. Thank you." She hopped out of bed, and started to open and shut drawers, looking for what she should wear. Before she knew how loud she was, a pillow was thrown at her.

"BE QUIET!" Derek took the extra pillow on his bed and covered his head. Casey just rolled her eyes. She threw on the clothes she chose and practically ran down to the lobby. She picked up the folded paper from the font desk and began to read it.

_Dear Casey,_

_I had so much fun yesterday. I thought we could hang out again today. But this time, try to get rid of your friend. He kept glaring at me. If you want to do something together call my cell number. 555-9382. Talk to you later!_

_Brendan_

Casey looked at the letter in disgust. How could she "Get rid of her friend"? She would much rather spend the day with Derek than this jerk. She found herself walking back up to her room trying not to punch a hole in the wall. She opened the door and saw Derek looking at something on their balcony. Casey couldn't take her eyes off of him. He had gotten dressed and the sun was shining on him. _He has g-r-e-a-t legs! _Casey couldn't help but think.

Suddenly, the door opened and Derek stepped inside the room. "Okay, what are we doing today?" He asked. Casey thought there was something wrong. Derek wouldn't look her directly in the eye.

"Oh, um. I wanted to go sailing, but I don't know if I'm up for it anymore." She looked at the ground and waited for him to make some immature comment.

"Come on, Case. You've been looking forward to this. We'll even go parasailing, if they have that." Casey looked up, surprised. Even Derek was surprised he was being helpful. "It'll be fun." Derek said innocently. He had decided that's what they were going to do, and started packing. Casey just stood there, in shock. Derek really was maturing.

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Derek pulled into Penn's Landing, where all the boats were docked. Casey was a bit more enthusiastic after the car ride to the dock. Derek held a conversation about some goose or something that was trying to cross the street this morning that he was staring at while she was downstairs.

Casey and Derek walked up to the rental booth laughing. "Wow Case. You're so red right now. Breathe- In, out. In, out." Derek joked around, making Casey laugh even more. They made it up to the booth where a young woman was sitting flipping through a magazine. "Can I help you?" She chewed her gum loudly.

"Yeah, we want to go sailing. How can we get a sailboat?" Derek asked.

"Well, we have public sailing for twenty-five dollars a person, but discounted for couples at fifteen a person. The next boat leaves in ten minute and there are," She looked at the computer next to her. "Four spots left on the boat." Derek looked at Casey for approval. She nodded.

"Okay, book us for that one." The lady started clicking around and typing on the computer, then asked us for our names.

"Your total is thirty dollars with the couple discount, which by the way, you guys are adorable. I saw you walking up here. How long have you been together?" She waited for an answer.

"Oh, we're not-" Derek covered Casey's mouth with his hand.

"We started dating two and a half years ago. We haven't broken up since." Derek smiled. The lady smiled sweetly and handed us two tickets with hearts on them. Derek and Casey thanked the lady and walked over to the huge sailboat. Casey looked at Derek.

"What? I wanted a discount! I need to…I need to buy stuff you know."

Derek looked at the tickets. "This is it. It's a three hour trip around the Delaware River." Derek informed Casey. That was a first. They gave their tickets to the man on the boat and found seats in the sun. Casey reclined and shut her eyes. The sun felt so good on he skin. Derek turned to ask Casey a question, but stopped when he saw her basking in the sun. The sun made her skin glow. Derek looked away before he did something he knew would upset her.

The boat started to move, blowing a breeze through everyone's hair. The loudspeaker began describing what they were passing, what they could do in the places they saw, and how old everything was. Casey was still lying down as the tour continued. Derek decided to lay down with her, since she looked so comfortable.

They passed the shops on the coast, they saw huge bridges and land in the distance. Everything was so pretty, especially with the blue water glistening below them. The rocking of the boat, the sun in his face and the fact that Casey wasn't saying anything put Derek into a light sleep.

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Casey wasn't asleep; she was just enjoying the warm summer breeze and the sun. She wanted to have some time to think anyway, so she let Derek do whatever he wanted while she pretended to sleep. She had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she couldn't figure out what was wrong. She turned her eyes so that she could see what Derek was up to. He was breathing deeply, so she figured he fell asleep. Her stomach was doing flips as she stared at him. _This is not why I feel weird. Derek has nothing to do with it. _She told herself.

Hours passed, but Derek didn't wake up until the boat pulled back into the dock. Casey nudged him until he finally got up. They walked back to their car silently.

"So, you want to go out to dinner somewhere?" Derek asked sleepily. He yawned and stretched his arms out.

"Sure, I guess. Just drive down the main street over there and we'll look for a place." Derek drove onto the main busy road, found a cute little café and parked the car.

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Two hours and a million laughs later, Casey and Derek stumbled out of the restaurant, laughing hysterically. The whole event had been like this. The waiter had spilled soda all over Casey, making her shirt see-through. He had given Derek the wrong dinner, making it a whole fish- with the eyes and everything- instead of a Philly Cheesesteak. And, at the booth behind theirs, a toddler with a runny nose had sneezed all over the back of Derek's head.

"That was so funny. I can't believe you had three-year-old boogers in your hair! Your hair is all nasty in the back!" Casey laughed. Derek made a face and pointed at her shirt.

"You don't look so good either, you know." He knew it was a lie. Her see-through shirt made it hard for him to even look at her; her shirt was sticking to her slim figure.

They drove back to the hotel in a jovial mood. Casey got into her pajamas while Derek just took his shirt off and lay in his bed watching some talk show. Casey brushed her teeth, flossed, used mouthwash and finally jumped into her bed. She was in such a great mood, that she actually said, "So. Where do _you_ want to go tomorrow?" Derek's head twisted around to where Casey was laying.

"_You're_ going to let _me_ pick? Gee Case. What happened din the bathroom?" Casey just rolled her eyes. "Okay then. I would like to go to a Phillies game."

"Okay, Phillies game it is." Casey was fine with that.

"Wait, I'm not done. We'll get as many hot dogs as we want, _and_ afterwards we'll run up the steps that Rocky ran up. Then we could do whatever you want." Derek looked satisfied.

"Okay then. Philly's game with hot dogs and then climb the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps. Sounds good. See you bright and early, Derek." Casey pulled the blankets over herself even more and faced the other way, dozing off to sleep.

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Day 3

"Case. Get up. The game is at one o'clock! We have to get there soon!" Derek was up first, and was trying to wake up Casey.

"All right, all right. I'm up. What do people usually wear to a baseball game?" Casey rubbed her eyes.

"A baseball jersey, maybe?" Derek said sarcastically. He was wearing a Phillies shirt that he probably bought when they went shopping.

"I don't own a jersey. I guess I could wear a regular shirt."

"Nah, just wear my other one. I was giving it to Edwin, but he'll never know you wore it." He threw a matching jersey at her head and went out on the balcony. Casey smelled his shirt. She inhaled the scent of a freshly clean Derek who had possibly just shaved. She liked it. A lot.

Once she was dressed in jeans and Derek's shirt, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and raced Derek to the car. She thought it was a bit childish, but she did it anyway. Something inside of her told her Derek would like it.

Casey offered to drive, but since Derek was the baseball fan, he drove there. They arrived a few minutes later and went up to the line of people waiting to get in. They were let in five minutes later, and were directed to their seats.

"Wow, how did you get such great seats?" Derek was taking pictures of the amazing view they had of the opposing team warming up.

"Emily's dad's brother lives here and worked on the stadium, and gets them free tickets. She offered them to me, and I had no idea how great they were. I'll have to thank her later!"

The game started, with the Phillies taking a 2-0 lead immediately. Casey grew bored in the fourth inning, but was trying very hard to make this a good day for Derek, so she didn't complain. In the middle of the fifth inning, Derek ordered four hot dogs and a coke.

"You can have two, and I'll have two." Derek stated the obvious.

"That's okay. I'm not a fan of the hot dog." Casey picked one up and examined it. "But I do love coke. Why did you only get one?"

"I dunno. You can share with me I guess." Derek said awkwardly. Casey was usually uncomfortable with sharing drinks but she would be okay this once, she told herself. But then a thought came into her head. She would be putting her mouth and a straw that would probably have Derek's spit on it. Casey was disgusted, until she put her mouth up to the straw.

That was the best tasting coke she had ever had.

Once the game was over, and Derek was finished body slamming into other Philly fans who were equally excited over the win, they headed over to the "stairs where Rocky climbed" as Derek put it. Derek pretended to be Rocky, making Casey laugh. He stood by the statue and let Casey take pictures of his ridiculous poses. Then, Derek asked a stranger to take a picture of Casey and Derek together in front of the statue. Derek put his arm around Casey and Casey put her arm around Rocky's waist. Derek gave Casey a jealous look, and the man snapped the picture. Casey thanked the man, and looked at the picture on the camera.

"Oh, we are so keeping this! Look at the face you gave me!" Derek wasn't even looking at the camera.

They drove back to their hotel, exhausted from the day's events. Casey had to admit; Derek's plans for the day were pretty fun.

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Day 4

Casey woke up the next morning in a mysteriously cheerful mood. She stretched, turned around and almost passed out. Derek was sleeping almost on top of her, with his arm on her back.

"EW! De-rek!" She screamed, causing a sleeping Derek to jump off the bed. Casey looked around; to make sure it was _him_ that was in _her_ bed. His bed was messy, so someone must have slept in it last night.

"Why- why was I in your bed?" Derek scratched his head and pointed to the bed. They both stood there, staring at it like it was poisonous.

"Why don't you ask yourself that, you disgusting little freak!" Casey didn't know what he was doing in her bed, but she did know she was way too young to be having _that _kind of relationship, so, she lashed out at him.

"Look, Case. Nothing happened, I must have just slept-walked into your bed. That's all." He shrugged. But, he knew what had happened. He recalled back to a dream that he had last night.

"_Derek, you are such a sweetheart! I can not believe you bought me all these charms!" _

_"It was nothing." Derek shifted uncomfortably._

_"Why? Why did you do it?" This was the question Derek had been hoping to avoid._

_"I'm…I'm not sure. I just have been having these strange feelings lately about-" Casey pushed him down on her bed and kissed him passionately. _

Derek was watching a talk show the night before on how to keep a passionate relationship going, so he must have incorporated it into his dream. _And I have been known for sleepwalking, _Derek thought to himself.

"Well…I guess it's okay, then. Just don't do it again! We have a lot more cities coming up…" Casey gave him a look that was a combination of anger, confusion, and something Derek could not determine.

Once they were both dressed, had breakfast, and packed up, Casey checked them out of the hotel and drove over to one of Philadelphia's most famous landmarks- The Liberty Bell. Casey had been waiting to go there the whole trip, but they pushed it off until today. Derek was not looking forward to coming, but he would deal with it for Casey.

The car ride was about ten minutes. Derek and Casey sat in awkward silence the entire time. They were both relieved to get out of the cramped car and onto the line of people waiting to see the bell.

"Why are we going to see some cracked old bell anyway?" Derek finally broke the silence.

"It's not just some cracked old bell, Derek. It has history. Don't you care how it cracked, or why there even is a Liberty Bell?" Casey went into her smart mode. Derek rolled his eyes, signaling a 'No, I don't care.'

They shuffled their way down the line, until it was their turn to see the huge bell. Casey handed Derek her camera, and asked him to take pictures of her in front of it. They exited the line and Casey dragged Derek over to where an educational movie was playing.

"Ew, school over my summer break? I don't think so, Case. Let's get outta here. I don't want to hit traffic on our way south." Derek held Casey's hand and pulled her away from the crowd of families and history buffs that were watching the movie.

"Okay, so we are headed to Washington D.C., right?" Casey nodded. "How much more educational experiences do you think I can take?" Derek asked humorously.

"Derek, there's more than just education in Washington D.C. Sure, we're going to a few museums, and shopping again, but you can pick a place to go, too. I don't mind." Casey said sweetly.

Derek didn't care where they went, but he would never admit it. He just did not want to end up in Casey's bed again, despite what his heart told him.

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**Okay, stupid ending, but I couldn't end it! Please, please, please review! I researched a lot for this chapter, and I need some suggestions for upcoming chapters. So, if you would like your ideas in this story, please PM me or review!!**


	7. Day 1 in Washington DC

**I AM SO SORRY FOR THE EXTREMLEY LONG WAIT!!! I cannot believe how ridiculously long ago it was I last updated…it wont ever be that long again! This chapter is the first day of Washington D.C. I've been there once before, so Casey and Derek are going to have some fun! Don't forget, KEEP REVIEWING!!**

**I do not own LWD or Holiday in or anywhere they go.**

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"Casey, do I turn here? Or the next exit?" Derek slowed the car down and waited for her to answer.

"Um, I think it's the next two exits." Casey had a huge fold out map on her lap and was moving her fingers up a road. Derek groaned.

"The worst thing about this trip is these long rides. There is nothing to do!" Derek sighed.

"Um, how about you _drive?_ It can keep you pretty busy, sometimes." She received a light punch from Derek. "How about I go over our agenda for the next four days. I have a feeling you'll like it." Derek agreed only because Casey would have read it anyway.

"Okay, once we check into our hotel, I thought we could rent a city scooter, you know, those circular bikes we saw in New York? Well, I found out they have them here too. We could go around the city, do a little shopping, and get some dinner. Today is pretty much shot because we're arriving late. So, tomorrow, I booked us for a tour of the white house and I want to go to The Smithsonian. Emily's been there and said the Hope Diamond is amazing!"

"Great, you're going for jewelry. Sounds boring." Derek kept his gaze straight ahead.

"You know I like jewelry, Derek. Look, I've been wearing my charm bracelet this whole trip! Tell me you haven't noticed." Derek felt his face heat up.

"Okay, what's next?" He needed to change the subject.

"Well," Casey continued, "Day three, I found from my sources that the WNBA All-Star Game was being hosted in D.C. this year." Derek looked sharply at her. "And, it just so happens, I got tickets!"

"No way! Case, you're amazing!" Derek said loudly. Casey blushed bright red and quickly looked down. "I meant, um, that's amazing. Yeah, the game. Thanks." Derek looked back out at the road again awkwardly. He cleared his throat. "And day four, let me guess. We're going to famous monuments. Right?"

Casey smiled. "How could we not? I thought we'd go to The Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, then the Iwo Jima memorial, the Vietnam and the Korean War memorials, and finally, Arlington National Cemetery and Zoo. They have the cutest pandas there!" Casey squealed with excitement.

"Sounds fuuuuun." The monotone of his voice upset Casey.

"Can you be a bit more enthusiastic? For me?"

"Yay! Like, Oh My Gawsh!" Derek made his voice high pitched and he made arm gestures resembling a hyper girl. He loves seeing Casey laugh, and that did the trick.

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**Welcome to Washington D.C.**

The Nation's Capital 

Once they arrived in the nation's capital, Casey checked them into the hotel while Derek was parking the car. He met her in the lobby of the Holiday Inn. They took the elevator to the eleventh floor and found their room. Casey started unpacking, as she always did and claimed the bed closest to the sliding door of the balcony. Derek laid himself across the other bed and sighed. Casey asked what was wrong.

"It's just that I'm sick of these hotels. One after the other, the same thing. I miss my old bed at home." He pretended to act sad and pouted, which made Casey laugh.

"Aw, you poor baby." Casey played along. She took a deep breath and decided to take a risk by saying, "You look like you need a hug." Derek knew he was blushing, but before he knew it Casey wrapped her arms around him. They stayed in that position for what seemed like an eternity, while Derek felt the electric current flow between them. Was he the only one to notice it?

Casey had no idea what made her hug Derek. She had been having thoughts about harboring feelings for him for some time now, and she had just let some slip out. She felt the chemistry of their hug, and could not imagine what a kiss with him would feel like. _No, I will not kiss him. It's bad enough I hugged him. _"Okay Derek. I'm just going to call the scooter service, so they can pick us up at the hotel. Watch TV or something." Casey went through her pocket book and took her cell phone out and dialed a phone number. Derek did as he was told and flipped on the television. There was some talk show on with a man and a woman, the woman was making big hand gestures and laughing while the man nodded in agreement. Derek gazed at the floor, uninterested, until he heard the woman continue her story.

"_That's right Connie. We officially started dating when we were about to start college."  
"Didn't your parents and family find it a bit odd you two were dating? I mean you are step-siblings!" _The talk show host, Connie, asked. Derek's head snapped up and he felt his face get hot. This time, it was the man who answered.  
"_They were apprehensive about it at first, but once they saw how much we loved each other, they accepted it, as did everyone around us. It's not like we're blood related._"

Derek couldn't believe what he was hearing. He continued to watch.

"_So, how did you realize your feelings for each other?_" Connie folded her hands on her lap.  
"_We took a road trip, and somewhere near the end, we got a call saying my step brother, or his brother, had an accident and we should come see him. So during the ride back, my feelings just sort of, spilled out of me. I don't know if was the stress, or, what, but he admitted on having feelings for me too. We've been together since." _The woman looked happily over at her boyfriend. Derek sighed impatiently, wondering who Casey could possibly be on the phone with for so long. He couldn't take much more of this strangely familiar step sibling romance. It only got worse.  
"_And, Dominique, I hear you would like to add on to this story, am I correct?" _Connie raised her eyebrows, while the woman looked confused.  
"_Uh, yes Connie. I would." _He got out of his chair and onto one knee. The woman's hands automatically moved from her lap to her face, and she was smiling and crying, at the same time. "_Caroline, I love you so much. Will you marry me and be mine forever?_" Derek grabbed the remote and pushed the power button. He did not want to hear her answer, and he couldn't figure out why that show was creeping him out. Thankfully, an aggravated Casey sat down on his bed.

"Well, where's our scooter? Took you long enough." Derek glanced at Casey, who probably hadn't heard the talk show at all.

"Get your stuff, the scooter is on its way."

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"Um, we'll get off here. We need to do some shopping!" Casey instructed our scooter accompanist. The man nodded and pulled the circular four-person scooter over to the curb. Casey grabbed Derek's hand, unaware of the chaos she caused him, and dragged him into a souvenir shop.

"What are you doing? I need to go…go to the hockey store!" Derek looked at the door, planning to leave.

"I thought we could buy family gifts now, since we haven't really gone shopping together yet." She looked so hopeful; as she stared with her blue eyes into Derek's brown ones.

They shopped around a few stores for an hour, and then split up, giving Derek a chance to buy a Washington D.C. charm for Casey's bracelet. The charm this time was a teeny version of the White House, made of white gold. Derek could not wait to finally give Casey all of these charms; they were hard to keep safe for such a long time.

When Derek met up with Casey again, she was carrying bags in both hands and on both arms, and they were turning white from the lack of circulation. Derek ran over to her to help, but he wasn't fast enough. She dropped everything and began picking everything up.

Derek knelt down to help, thinking she would start crying and complaining soon, but to his surprise she started giggling.

He couldn't resist her anymore.

Derek leaned over the pile of stuff on the sidewalk and kissed her so lightly he wouldn't have known if their lips touched if it wasn't for that spark that flowed between them on contact. He backed up, and waited. Casey sat there for a moment, not moving, not making any eye contact, and simply began picking up her purchases. Derek stayed on the ground, confused, while Casey walked over to where she told the scooter company to pick them up. Derek stood up, zombie-like, and started pedaling the scooter.

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Casey pedaled the scooter back to the hotel, oblivious of her surroundings. Derek had kissed her. She had lip locked with Derek. Her lips had touched Derek's lips. _When were these thoughts going to go away?_ After thinking for a while, Casey fell asleep, not thinking about how to get the thoughts of kissing Derek out of her head, but about when she could kiss him again.


	8. Days 2, 3 and 4 in Washington DC

**I Updated in record time!! ****It's thanks to your great reviews! I saw the new LWD Promo on TV and I am in a Dasey mood, so you know what that means!! This chapter is going to be full of cute Derek and Casey fluff!! Don't forget to review!!!**

**I don't own Wal Mart, Life With Derek, Cory in The House, the WNBA, Verizon Center or obviously the White House.**

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Derek woke up early the next morning surprisingly early. He didn't move, hoping to fall back asleep, but thoughts of last night forbid him to. He decided to go downstairs and bring Casey back some breakfast. Derek thought if he was extra sweet to her she might forgive him for kissing her. Little did he know, she wasn't angry with him.

He got dressed, went down to the hotel café, and waited on the unusually long line. He got to the counter after about ten minutes, and ordered.

"Two coffees, one croissant and one chocolate doughnut."

Once the man bagged all the food, he went upstairs to find that Casey was still sleeping. He put the coffee on her nightstand and looked at her for a moment. Her mouth was in a small smile and she was hugging the blanket. She must have smelled the coffee, because her eyes fluttered open, making Derek's heart race.

Casey turned her head to see Derek standing next to her.

"Oh my gosh! Derek, what are you doing?" Casey pulled the blankets higher.

"Oh, um…I bought us breakfast! Right, yours is right here, and mine is- um, over there." He tried to cover up the fact he was looking at her while she slept and went on the balcony to eat.

_Great. _Casey thought. _I scared another guy off._ She took the coffee cup that Derek got her and breathed in the fresh scent. She looked at Derek on the balcony. _He is so cute! No, wait. I can't think like this. Great, I am SO confused! _She thought she didn't want to get involved with a relationship with Derek; it would be too complicated. But, Casey had to smile at the dream she had been having. Derek took her to the movies and had asked her out by putting an ad in the previews. It was so romantic; she could feel herself smiling in her sleep. _Oh well, time to get dressed. The White House is waiting._

"No, it's okay Case. I'll drive." Derek 0 Casey's door to the car, then went around to the driver's side. He drove while they sat together in awkward silence. Casey sighed.

"Derek, turn here. How do you not know what road the White House is on? Were you not paying attention in American History last year?" Casey said harshly. Derek knew Casey snapped when she was deep in thought.

They walked up to the visitor's entrance, handed their tickets to the man collecting them, and were assigned a tour guide. Their group was fairly large, so they got started when Casey and Derek joined. They walked through the library, a lot of different colored rooms, a dining room, and a map room and finally they went down to the kitchen.

"This is our newly redesigned kitchen. Out head chef is Chef Victor, who is making dinner for the president and his guests. It usually takes all day to prepare when the president has guests for dinner." The tour guide explained, and Chef Victor didn't even look up. He looked busy.

Casey and Derek followed along with the rest of their group, while Casey enjoyed the historical significance of everything. When they got to entrance, the guide thanked them and went to meet her next group. Casey walked around the hallway, looking at the paintings, and Derek went to the shop to buy something.

"Cory! Play horsy with me!" Casey turned her head to see a little girl chasing a teenage boy down the hallway.

"Sophie! Stop chasing me!" The boy, Cory, ran and turned the corner, the little girl, apparently called Sophie, still following. Casey laughed and went to find Derek.

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"What, it's an awesome shirt!" Derek explained while walking with Casey back to their car. Derek had spent thirty dollars on a shirt at the White House.

"Yeah, well they have awesome shirts at Wal Mart, too, but they cost a whole lot less money!" Casey stormed to the car and got in the drivers seat. She drove off towards the Smithsonian, her mind somewhere a million miles away.

"Hey, Case? Can we talk about what happened yesterday?" Derek softened up for this subject. He didn't want Casey to feel any more uncomfortable, and he was getting tired of this angry Casey.

"What's there to talk about? You kissed me, and then pretended like nothing happened. Just like you do with every other bimbo you come in contact with."

"Wha- no I did not! I tried showing how I feel about you, then realized I shouldn't have, so I tried making it up to you by acting nice to you all day today!" Casey stopped at a red light. She turned her head and looked Derek straight in his eyes.

"Listen, Derek. I am very confused at this point in my life, because of that kiss. I need to think things through, but right now, we are strictly friends. Right now, I have no feelings for you other than the friendship kind. In the past, I will admit, my feelings were more than those, but I don't know if I could do this. Please don't try to buy me breakfast and act all sweet towards me until I sort out my feelings. _I need time to think_." Casey took a deep breath and pushed the gas pedal when the light turned green. Derek looked out his window and thought about what she said. He tried to ignore the harshness of the comment, tried to brush off the fact Casey was mad at him, but his true feelings for her overwhelmed him. He needed to make it up to her somehow, and show her they were a close to perfect match.

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They entered The Smithsonian, with Derek just silently following Casey wherever she wanted to go. He wasn't really looking at the exhibits, because he was too busy formulating a plan. He wasn't used to being on this end of a relationship, if that's what you call it. _He_ was usually the one being sought after.

They walked around for the rest of the day, stopping the longest at the Hope Diamond. Casey's eyes sparkled even more than the diamond when she looked at it. Casey bought some junk diamond earrings imitating the Hope Diamond at the gift shop when they were leaving. She put them on in the car. They sparkled and had a blue glow around them, making her blue eyes stand out.

The sun was setting before Derek and Casey got back to the hotel. Derek's stomach was grumbling so loudly that Casey noticed. She sighed.

"Let's order room service. Get the menu off the table." She ordered what they wanted and laid on her bed with her eyes closed. She was fast asleep when they delivered the food.

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Casey awoke to the smell of old food in the process of going bad. She scrunched her nose up, turned her head to see if Derek was up, only to find an empty bed. She heard water running in the bathroom, so she got up to see what Derek was up to. She stood in the doorframe, watching Derek brush _and_ floss his teeth. He was dressed in one of his favorite basketball team's jersey and a pair of shorts. His hair was still messy from sleeping. He took out his cell phone and began dialing.

"Hello, this is Derek Venturi. I'm confirming my ad for the game this afternoon. Yes, that is correct. Thank you very much." Derek obviously didn't see Casey watching him, which left Casey confused. Derek hung up and picked up the hairbrush. Casey gasped. Derek never brushed his hair; at most he ran his fingers through it. The brush went up to his head, when Casey yelled out,

"Don't!" Derek looked at Casey like she was crazy.

"Why not?"

"Your hair looks good messy." Casey used this as a peace offering. She wanted to say she was sorry about the attitude she gave him yesterday, but when she needed to think, she tended to snap. And poor Derek was the only one around she could take it out on. She needed a sign that would give her an answer to her dilemma: should she accept her feelings for Derek, or push them further down and forget about them?

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Derek parked the car and ran out, like a little kid. Casey just rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Come ON Case! I wanna see our seats!" Derek walked backwards while Casey caught up. He had been in a better mood since Casey started acting normal again. This still didn't answer her question. She added his boyish personality to her mental list of pros and cons, under the pro side.

They handed the two tickets to the woman at the gate and went through the turning person counter. The women were on the court warming up, and Derek's eyes practically fell out of his head. He ran ahead to their seats, which were fairly close to the court. He was practically drooling. Casey added it to the con side. _Tendency to drool over multiple girls at once._

She found where Derek was sitting and put her jacket on the clearly filthy seat. She sat on her jacket and looked around. The place was huge, and people were piling in faster and faster. The game soon started, so Derek was on the edge of his seat and Casey was playing games on her cell phone. For Casey, it felt like forever before it was half time. _Another con. Derek forgets about his guests. I am so bored! _She had no idea which team was which, or who was winning for that matter. The only reason she bought tickets for this was to make Derek happy. He obviously didn't care right now about her happiness.

Casey saw masses of people leaving for the bathrooms, food stands or just to walk around. The screen that had the score began to search the crowd as it played "Kiss Me". Every now and then it would stop on a couple that would jump up and down with excitement, or laugh and then kiss. Messages were being displayed on the screen as well, which Casey had fun reading. Someone named Kyle was proposing to someone named Michelle. It was Will's 20th birthday. A guy named Derek was apologizing and asking a girl named Casey to be his girlfriend. Someone was- wait WHAT? Casey's eyes grew wide and she could feel her face grow hot and red. She looked at Derek and the screen back and forth. The camera was focused on her and Derek now, with "Kiss Me" still playing. Derek had 'his' smirk on his face looking at Casey.

This was the sign she needed.

Casey jumped up, looked into Derek's eyes and kissed him with passion. She could feel herself smiling into the kiss while she wrapped her arms around his neck. _Definitely a huge pro. _Casey mentally erased all the cons from the list, because this was all that mattered.The people sitting around them cheered as the camera focused on another couple. She didn't want to let go; it felt so right.

"Thank you, Derek. This is the sweetest, most romantic thing anyone has done for me!" Casey smiled.

"So, I'll take that as a yes, you'll be my girlfriend?" Derek full on smiled and opened his arms, shrugging in a way. Casey giggled and went in to hug him. Soon, the basketball game started again, but this time, Derek was sitting back in his chair, hands locked in with Casey's. Her head was on his shoulder, and she was trying to understand the game while Derek tried to explain it.

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The newest couple in Washington D.C. walked to the car hand in hand, laughing about anything and everything. When they got in the car, Derek got quiet.

"What's wrong?" Casey looked concerned. Derek shook his head a little and kissed Casey unexpectedly. She was surprised at first, but soon kissed back.

"You. Are. So. Beautiful. When. You're. Worried." Derek said in between the kisses. Casey broke the kiss and smiled.

"We should get going. If we keep this up, we'll never get up tomorrow." Casey loved the look Derek got when he was left hanging. He reluctantly drove back to the hotel and kissed Casey goodnight.

_Finally._ Derek was so happy he could finally kiss Casey without any problems.

_Finally. _Casey smiled to herself as she fell into a deep sleep. She had been imagining how and when Derek would ask her to be his girlfriend, but none of her dreams were as wonderful as the reality.

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"Mrhmmm. What time is it?" Derek stretched his arms above his head. He was so exhausted from all of yesterday's excitement. He looked over at Casey's bed, which still had a breathing figure lying in it. His eyes moved towards the clock, which read 11:36 AM. He sighed. They were already way behind Casey's schedule. He got out of bed, and lay next to Casey. He wrapped his arms around her warm body.

"Mmmmm…what time is it?" She smiled but didn't open her eyes.

"Eleven forty." Derek buried his face in her hair.

"Great, we have to go." She pulled herself out of bed, causing Derek's head to hit the sheets.

Once they were both dressed, which took quite a while thanks to Derek and Casey's continuous kissing sprees, they walked down to their car and drove to the Jefferson Memorial.

"Excuse me sir, do you mind taking a picture of me and my girlfriend?" Derek handed the camera to the man. Derek took Casey's hand and walked up a few steps. Putting his arm around her, they both smiled and waited for the red light to flash.

At the Washington Monument, Derek and Casey got into crazy poses for the camera, laughing the entire time. "Derek, these pictures are going to look ridiculous!"

"That's the point, Case!"

Derek raced Casey up the Lincoln Memorial steps, and then asked a family to take a picture of their red, out of breath faces together.

At the Iwo Jima Memorial, Casey was staring at the statue of the pose the soldiers were in, when Derek snuck up behind her and held the camera out, snapping the picture of them both. "I don't think I was smiling!" Casey laughed as she tackled Derek, trying to get the camera.

They held hands as they walked through the Vietnam and Korean Memorial, respectively asking someone to take their pictures at the end. Casey rested her head next to Derek's the whole time.

At the Arlington National Cemetery, Casey walked through the rows solemnly, never letting Derek's hand go. When the left, Casey was in a gloomy mood. Derek cheered her up by carrying her bridal style over to the pandas at the zoo, despite her laughing requests and kicking to put her down.

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"Today was so much fun Derek." Casey was extremely satisfied with Washington D.C. It was her favorite city so far on the trip. Derek stopped the car at a red light, wasting no time to kiss Casey. She laughed. "Man, every chance you get you kiss me." Derek playfully pouted. "But hey, I'm not complaining!"

They got on the highway, headed south for the "Happiest Place on Earth." Orlando may be an extremely long car ride away, but for Casey and Derek, it was just more time they could enjoy being a couple.


	9. Day 1 in Orlando

**I love reviews!! You guys are great! There will be around 5-6 more chapters left, with a few plot twists…I'm not sure how it's going to turn out, but keep on reviewing! This chapter is a little short, but it's just a filler chapter.**

**I still don't own Life With Derek, Disney World, Dippin Dots or Bonnie Raitt's Something to Talk About.**

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"People are talkin', talkin' 'bout people, I hear them whisper, you won't believe it. They think we're lovers kept under cover, I just ignore it but they keep sayin' we laugh just a little too loud, stand just a little too close, we stare just a little too long! Maybe they're seein', somethin' we don't darlin!" Casey sang freely bobbing her head to the song on the radio. The windows were rolled down, and there was a carefree, happy-go-lucky mood in the sweet summer air. The oldies song that Casey sang shoved a disturbing thought into his head.

"Hey, um Case? How are we telling everyone about…us?" Derek tapped the steering wheel. Casey sopping swinging her head back and forth and lowered the radio.

"Oh, well, I um, guess we could call mom and George, and explain everything. You could call Sam and I could call Emily…" Derek kept his gaze on the road, chewing his lip, signaling he did not like the idea. "Or…we could just, maybe, keep it on the DL for a while?" It came out as a question. Derek agreed. "So, no spilling our secret. Let's shake on it." Casey held out her hand, but Derek swooped over and locked his lips with hers. "Or, we could do that." Casey smiled to herself.

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Fifteen and a half, long, gruesome hours later, and Derek pulled up to their next hotel. It was located on Disney property, so they wouldn't have to drive far to get to the parks.

"This should be fun, right? Two eighteen year olds going on rides with eight year olds!" _Derek and his sarcastic remarks, _Casey thought

"Derek, Disney World is not just for little kids. Many couples come here on their honeymoon!" Casey wiggled her eyebrows playfully at Derek.

"Mmmmm…." Derek stop walking to the hotel entrance and put his hands on the back of her hair, cupping her head. Her heartbeat sped up immediately, and she could feel blush creeping to her face. "You," He said softly, "Are definitely coming on Space Mountain with me." Casey's mouth dropped. She felt a romantic moment coming, and then he goes and says that! She couldn't help but laugh. She wrapped her arms around his back and smiled.

"Whatever you say, but on one condition." He raised his eyebrows, signaling for her to demand her condition. "Kiss me."

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"Okay, do you want to take the Disney Transportation Bus to Epcot, or do you want to drive?" Casey was looking over the map of Disney World she picked up in the lobby. They were closer to Magic Kingdom, but her plans told her today was dedicated to Epcot.

"I don't care, Case. I'm sort of tired so why don't we take the bus?"

So, after waiting with a crowd of people whose ages were mostly under ten years old, Casey found two empty seats on the almost crowded bus. There was a movie playing on the televisions about how Epcot was built. Casey saw Derek dozing off as they picked up more people from the other Disney hotels. _Let him sleep now, because he is coming on every ride with me._ She smirked. The bus got on the main road and soon, Casey saw the 'Welcome to the Disney Parks' sign, in its bright and colorful glory.

"Okay, which ride are you dragging me on first?" Derek yawned, much to Casey's dissatisfaction. She wanted to taste his mouth, not see straight down it.

"Have some Disney spirit, Derek. It can't hurt." She stomped off in the direction of the ride she wanted to go on, while he jogged to catch up. He saw her waiting on line for a ride he didn't recognize, until he stood next to her and looked up. The sign read: Test Track, in huge blurred letters.

"Looks fun." Derek gave her a half-smile. He would go on roller coasters no matter how high, but going in a speeding car in a vertical position: not Derek's idea of exciting. Nonetheless, they waited on the semi-long line.

"That…was…. amazing!" Casey said in between breaths. They had just gotten off Splash Mountain, and Derek's clothes were practically see-through from the splash he received on the way down the mountain. Derek rolled his eyes, but took her hand and walked over to the Dippin' Dots stand. They were in line behind a blonde woman who was talking with a man with the same blonde hair. Somehow, Casey knew these people.

"Derek, do we know them?" Casey discreetly pointed to the backs of the people.

"I dunno. Hey, do we know you guys?" Derek rudely interrupted the conversation they had been having, but they turned around anyway. Both Derek and Casey gasped.

"No way! What are you guys doing here?"

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	10. Days 2, 3 and 4 in Orlando

**Hey everyone! I'm in the middle of taking regents, which are really hard New York State tests…. and it is the beginning of summer vacation so I'm just relaxing now, so this chapter is going to be rushed, in my opinion, and I might not update for a week or two. I don't want to drag the story out, since I have plans for what's to come. REVIEW!!**

**I don't own anything, as usual.**

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"No way! What are you guys doing here?" The blonde smiled and flipped her long hair to her back.

"Uh, well, Derek and I are touring the country before we go to college. What are you, um, doing here?' Casey stuttered and looked back and forth between them. Derek noticed she was getting annoyed so he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Well, Sam asked me out a month ago, and then last week, he surprised me with a trip to Disney World! Isn't that great?" She clapped her hands together and grinned. She kissed Sam, and then went on to say, "Sam and I are completely in love. Totally, right Sammie?"

"Uh, yeah Kendra. I love you too." Sam awkwardly smiled at Derek and Casey. The sound of the cars racing in Test Track roared in the background while the four of them just stood there

"Oh! So I see you and Derek are an item now, huh?" Kendra always knew how to keep a conversation flowing.

"Yeah, since around four days ago, actually!" Casey smiled and pecked Derek on the lips. He tried to deepen the kiss but Casey reluctantly pulled away "_Save it for later."_ She whispered. Derek's eyes got very wide and he smiled like a child in a candy store.

"So, what are we still doing here? Let's go on rides!" Sam looked bored.

"Together? Like, double dating?" Derek pointed to Kendra.

"Why not?" Kendra shrugged.

They went on the huge Epcot ball, and every other ride they could see. Six long hours and many arguments later, Derek, Casey, Sam and Kendra decided to leave the park and grab some dinner together. They each went in separate cars, which gave Casey some time to complain to Derek

"I did _not_ expect this to happen!" She said in hushed tones. "Why is my ex-boyfriend going out with your ex-girlfriend?"

"First off, I do not know why they are dating. They could say the same about us." Derek shrugged. Casey pouted her lip slightly. "Secondly, why are you whispering?"

Derek drove behind Sam and Kendra, and followed them into the parking lot of a steak house. Casey did not like where this was going.

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The next day, Casey woke up with a stomachache. She curled up in Derek's bed after getting out of her own.

"Ooh, what's the occasion?" Derek turned around to face Casey. She groaned.

"Derek." Casey barley made out his name. "I. Don't. Feel so good." She covered her mouth.

"Case. Are you going to be all right? Because we don't have to go-" Casey cut his sentence off and ran into the bathroom. Derek heard all kinds of noises coming from Casey. He felt bad for her, and couldn't do anything about it. A few minutes later, a pale Casey emerged from the bathroom, with her hair messy and her pajamas all twisted.

"So, does this mean we don't get to go to MGM Studios?" Derek had to ask.

The entire second day they spent in Orlando, Derek was running back and forth to the nearest drug store, getting Casey various medications and magazines. The last time he went, when he came back, Casey was on her cell phone talking weakly with someone.

"Yeah, Derek and I think it might be food poisoning from dinner last night. A steak house. I will. Love you too. Bye." She pushed the end button and gave Derek a smile. "Hey, that was fast. You got the magazines I wanted, right?"

"Yes Casey. I did. Who was that on the phone?" Derek hauled the heavy shopping bag onto the bed, emptying it by Casey's feet.

"It was mom and George. I called to tell them I'm sick. They were really worried about me, but I convinced them _not_ to fly down here."

"Wow. How did you do that?" Derek handed Casey her magazines.

"I just told them I was in very good hands." She smiled and winked at Derek. _Looks like she's feeling a little better_. Derek practically jumped on the bed, but restrained himself.

"Well, now. Are you literally in someone's hands?" Derek smiled.

"What do you mean?" Casey tilted her head to the side. Before she knew what was going on, Derek picked her up like he did at the basketball game. "Uh, Derek. I was just throwing up. Do you think picking me up is the smartest thing to do to me right now?"

"Oh, you want me to put you down now?" He put her down gently, but then kissed her on the lips. "Was that smart?"

"Yeah, that was all right." When he made a shocked face, she pecked him on the lips. They started to have a kissing fight until Casey had to run to the bathroom again. End of kissing fight.

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Derek woke up the next morning, feeling sore and stiff. He looked around and noticed he was sitting up on an armchair. Casey was already up and dressed, sitting at the desk on her laptop. He stretched his arms, making her realize he was up.

"Morning sunshine! Ready for Magic Kingdom?" She was perky and had some color again.

"Uh, yeah. Feeling better today?" Derek walked over and looked at what she was doing on the laptop.

"Yes, I am. It was probably just some 24-hour bug, or food poisoning. I'm perfect now though!" She was reading her email that had been sitting in her inbox since they had left Canada. Derek read the one that was currently open, from Emily.

_Hey Case. I thought you would want to know Kendra is now dating...you'll never guess…SAM! I know, crazy, right? But anyway, what's up with you? How's Derek? I cannot believe you get to spend a month on the road with just him. Lucky!! _

Derek laughed at it. Emily's crush on Derek had died down a little since their pretend date, but it never fully went away. Who could blame her though?

Derek got dressed, and then they headed off to Magic Kingdom, the main park in Disney World.

"Derek lets go on Space Mountain!" Once they were inside, Casey was trying to avoid Sam and Kendra the entire time. She didn't even know if they were there or not.

Derek and Casey went on so many rides in such a short amount of time that even the physically fit hockey scholarship Derek was exhausted. Out of all the rides they went on, Derek's favorite was definitely the Dumbo ride. He wasn't a fan of roller coasters. Casey liked It's A Small World the most. _It was so adorable!_

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"Derek, we have to go. We have a busy day today!" Casey clapped her hands twice and pulled the blankets off Derek. He was in his boxers, so he immediately opened his eyes and pulled the blanket back over his head. Casey was laughing at Derek, whose face was now red.

"What do you want?" Derek complained.

"I told you, we're going to MGM Studios today, since we couldn't go the other day, we have to go shopping, and we're leaving for Arizona! Let's go Derry!"

Once they were both up and ready to go, they went to their car, only to find Kendra and Sam waiting by it.

"Oh, um, hey guys! What are you doing here?" Casey did not want to double date again. It was awkward.

"We just had so much fun the other day, and wanted to know if you wanted to come shopping with us and maybe out to lunch?" Kendra was too hopeful. Casey began to open her mouth say reject the offer, when Derek injected himself into the conversation.

"We'd love to. We're going to spend a few hours at MGM first though. How about we meet at our hotel around two-ish?" He pointed up at the huge building.

"Sounds good! See you then!" Kendra waved, looking at Derek. Casey rolled her eyes.

Derek and Casey drove over to MGM Studios. They went straight to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Casey was actually chosen to be the contestant, but they were not giving out money, much to Derek's dismay. They went on the Back lot tour, and a movie ride that scared Casey to the point where she was clinging to Derek's arm.

"Well, that was interesting." Casey linked her arm with Derek as they were walking back to the car. "So now we have to go meet up with _them._" She shuddered.

"Why are you so against Sam and Kendra?" Derek unlinked his arm and looked directly at Casey.

"I-I'm not against them! I'm happy for them. I'm glad they're together. I…I…" Derek watched as Casey's face fell. "Okay, I'm not happy for them as much as I should be. I've always thought of Sam as, well, taken. And don't get me wrong, I am so much happier with you, but it's weird going on a double date with a guy whose lips touched a girl whose lips touched you." Casey took a deep breath. Man, could she rant.

"So, you're telling me you still have feelings for Sam? When you're my girlfriend?" Derek looked genuinely hurt.

"NO! No, no, no. That's all wrong. I like you, Derek. Not Sam. Well, not Sam now. But I did like Sam. But I don't anymore. What I'm trying to say is-" Casey stopped rambling when she realized Derek wasn't listening. Now she was the hurt one.

Derek stopped the car next to Sam and Kendra's car a few minutes later. "Hey Sam. Uh, listen. Do you want to go find some hockey stuff with me? Let Casey and Kendra go do their own thing?" Sam agreed, leaving Casey and Kendra alone.

"So, Kendra. What college are you going to?" Casey tried to make small talk while looking for the store Kendra wanted to go to.

"I'm going to the University of Toronto in the fall. Majoring in elementary education!" Kendra grinned.

"Oh, how nice! Why did you pick Toronto?" Casey went with the flow of the conversation.

"Sam got a hockey scholarship there. I can't imagine leaving him and seeing him only on weekends!" She laughed. Casey just nodded.

Meanwhile, Derek and Sam walked until Derek found a jeweler. "Man, why are we going here? I thought you said-"

"I know, I know. I don't really want to look for hockey stuff. You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you." Sam nodded. "Every city Casey and I go to, I'm buying her a charm for her charm bracelet. At first, I had no idea why I was doing it, but I'm pretty sure I know now. Just, go with it, okay?" Derek never admitted what he was doing out loud. It felt good.

"Sure man. I think that's really nice. Why are you doing it if it's so nice?" They both laughed, but then Derek got serious.

"Now that, I can not tell you." He patted Sam on the back and went to pick out a charm.

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"Yeah, so I think Derek is mad at me because it's like I'm kissing you! You know, because you've kissed him and it's like a whole kissing triangle!" She threw her hands in the air in defeat. "And I don't know what to do!" Casey crinkled her nose and waited for Kendra to advise her.

"Wow, Case. Next time I wont ask what's new." She laughed at her own joke, but Casey just stared at her. "Okay then. Anyway, I'm sure he's not mad at you. If you want I can talk to him!"

"No, no. That's ok. I have to work this out myself. Let's just shop now."

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Once everyone was done shopping and talking, Sam and Derek met Casey and Kendra at a small café near their hotel and ate a small dinner before Casey and Derek had to leave.

"It was nice running in to you here, Kendra. Good luck in college! You'll make a great teacher!" Casey and Kendra hugged, while Sam and Derek shook hands.

"Bye, man. Have fun playing hockey and with Kendra. She can be a handful." Derek smirked and Sam rolled his eyes.

"Tell me about it."

"Let's go Case. We're practically driving across the country, I want to get a head start!" Derek started their car and waited for Casey. Once she was in and buckled, he drove towards the highway.

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About six hours into driving in the dead of night, Derek's phone rang, almost simultaneously after Casey's rang, both with frantic parents on the other end.

"What happened to Edwin?" Derek and Casey both screamed at the same time.

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**Ooooh sorry for the cliffy! In case you forgot, Derek and Casey were headed for Arizona, for some Grand Canyon fun! Review to find out what happened to Edwin!!**


	11. Home Is Where The Heart Is, Right?

**Hey everyone! I'm happy to announce I got a lot more reviews than usual for that last chapter! All of you are so concerned about Edwin, but don't worry. You'll find out what happened in this chapter. REVIEW S'IL VOUS PLAIT!! Hehe here comes my vast knowledge of French…**

**Je ne—oh forget it. I can't translate that I don't own LWD or Air Canada. Or anything basically.**

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"Derek! Move it! Let's go! It's YOUR brother who's in the hospital!" Casey trudged one of her three her suitcases along in the busy airport terminal. Derek rolled his eyes for the hundredth time today.

"Case, you can stop bossing me around now. I'm a big boy, I can walk by myself!" He knew she didn't handle stressful situation well, so he was trying to keep himself calm. He had purchased two tickets for the next flight back to Canada, where they would meet Nora at their familiar airport.

"If you could walk by yourself, then why did our flight just take off?" Casey yelled, as a few passing travelers looked at the commotion. Derek looked out the window, and, to his dismay, an Air Canada plane was speeding down the runway. He looked innocently at Casey and shrugged.

"Ugh! De-rek! This isn't funny!" She stormed off to the empty boarding gate and began talking with the woman. _Warning: Casey is a pain in the neck when under pressure. _Derek thought to himself.

"Okay, Derek. The nice woman over there," she pointed to the woman, "has given us tickets for the next flight out, which leaves in a half hour." She took a deep breath. "Are you going to be okay? Because I know this must be hard on you, with your little brother in critical condition. Do you need anything?"

"Casey, seriously, calm down! I'm fine. Really. I am. Just go sit down and relax, because obviously, you're not fine." Derek stated simply, but he could see the myriad of emotions crossing her face. "Case-"

"No, Derek. Just don't. I'll see you on the plane." She handed him his ticket and walked to the seating area. Derek thought it was in his best interest to steer clear until she cooled off.

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"May we have the attention of all passengers waiting to board the Air Canada flight 19 to London, Ontario, you may now begin to board your plane." The woman announced over the microphone. Derek let out a sigh. That had been the longest half hour ever, considering Casey wouldn't even sit anywhere near him. He went on the plane alone, but found Casey in her assigned seat, right next to his.

"H-hey Case. Feeling better?" He knew to be cautious. He was relieved when she smiled.

"Hey Derek. Yeah, I'm a little better. Sorry I exploded on you before. It was just-" She was cut off by Derek, who had sat down and pressed his lips against hers.

"You don't have to explain. I know this is stressful, and even though I said I was okay, I wasn't. I understood why you were freaking out but that's how I deal with stress. I make jokes, and you flip out on people." Casey smiled. Derek continued. "So, are we on good terms again? Because, I really missed you." He was holding back a smile.

"You missed me, or my lips?" She missed Derek too, but wasn't planning on admitting it.

"I am shocked, Miss MacDonald. Absolutely shocked that you would think that I would miss you for your great kissing!" Derek faked a British accent and put a hand over his heart. Casey giggled, and touched Derek's cheek.

"How great is my kissing?" Casey pretended she forgot.

"A-mazing." He closed the gap between them, savoring every second of the make-up kiss. The people behind them just stared.

"Great. Why do we always get stuck behind teenagers?" The old lady complained.

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"Derek. Deeeerek, we're here. Get up!" Casey shoved Derek, who had slept most of the flight, into the window of the airplane. He grunted, and reluctantly stood up. Casey didn't think he knew where he was, but ignored it and practically sprinted off the plane, leaving Derek to carry their carry on luggage.

"Mom! Over here! Hi mom!" Casey ran over to Nora, who was standing with the other people waiting for friends and family to exit the plane. "How's Edwin doing?"

"He's doing better. He woke up an hour ago, and the doctors are running tests now. They think he has four broken ribs, a broken leg and a concussion, but he should be alright if he gets a lot of rest. Oh Casey, George and I are so glad you and Derek were able to come. I know how much you wanted to go on this road trip." Nora hugged Casey, but let go when she saw Derek struggling with the luggage.

"Oh, Derek. Here, let me help you!" Nora ran over to him.

"Gee, thanks, seeing as how Casey left me to carry it all." He shot Casey a look, which made Casey look away.

"Okay, Edwin doesn't know you are coming, but George, Lizzie and Marti have all been waiting for you, so let's go!"

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"So, what exactly happened to Edwin? Because I've heard what the damage is, but that's about it." Casey could tell Derek was nervous about seeing his brother.

"Well, he was carrying boxes down to his and Lizzie's new basement bedroom, when-"

"Wait, what? Him and Lizzie share a bedroom now?" Casey's voice was full of concern.

"Well, it's the entire basement. It's more like a game room, bedroom and a place where both of their friends could just chill." Nora tried to sound 'hip' when she said chill, but it just made Derek laugh and Casey stare at her mother with a strange expression on her face. "Anyway, he was carrying one of Lizzie's boxes down, and I guess it was heavy since the old creaky stairs gave in under his feet, and he fell. Only one stair broke, so he was still okay, but when he stood up, they all collapsed and he went head first onto the only concrete area down there now." Nora shook her head, still in disbelief. Casey's hand was covering her mouth in shock.

"Mom, that's awful!" Casey was trying her best not to cry.

"I know, honey. But, let's not talk about all this. How has your trip been?" Derek's head popped up, interested in this conversation.

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"Hi George, we're back." Nora gave him a quick kiss as she swooped into Edwin's room fifteen minutes after her reunion with Casey and Derek.

"Hi Dad." Derek nodded, his hands in his pockets.

"Hello George. Can we go in?"

They walked in, Casey and Derek hand in hand, after George questioning them about it, and found Edwin watching cartoons. Everything would be normal, except he was sitting in a hospital bed. Marti was sitting in a chair by the window, coloring a picture that was probably for Edwin. Lizzie was sitting in a sliding wheely chair next to Edwin's bed watching the show with him. Edwin slowly turned his head, winced, and then smiled.

"Hey, bro!" He said weakly. "What brings you here?" Even when stuck in the hospital, Edwin still cracked jokes. _Takes after me._ Derek thought as all traces of nervousness left.

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After an hour and a half of talking with Derek and Edwin, Casey decided to talk privately with Lizzie, who was sitting in the bay window.

"Hey, Liz. Wanna go for a walk?"

"So, I hear you moved in with Edwin?" Casey tried to make it sound funny, but Lizzie just stared. "Um, right. So, you two are even closer now?"

"Yeah."

"Right. Well, do you want to hear some great news about me and Derek?"

"You're dating? I've been suspecting it since you were about sixteen, Case."

"Okay then. Do you want to tell me what's on _your_ mind then?" Lizzie looked at Casey, then back at the ground, and sighed.

"How would you feel if something like this happened to Derek?" Lizzie worded her feelings carefully.

"Well, Liz, it would be a little different I guess. Derek and me have feelings for each other. We're dating, remember?" Lizzie looked at Casey and made eye contact, while blinking a few times. Casey just looked at her until she realized what Lizzie was doing.

"Oh! Lizzie, are you dating Edwin?" Casey stopped walking and faced Lizzie. When she blushed, she knew the answer. "Do Mom and George know?" Lizzie shook her head.

"That's why it's so hard for me to explain why I never want to leave the hospital, or always sit by his bed when everyone else goes to get lunch. Casey, what should I do?"

This felt like the good old time, when Lizzie would come into Casey's room and ask for advice.

"Well, when George guessed Derek and I were going out, which by the way was a few hours ago, he seemed okay with it. Maybe you should tell them."

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"Hey! We're back." Casey and Lizzie reentered the room where everyone was gathering their belongings, getting ready to leave.

"We're heading home. I would say you can drive home with Derek, since you probably want to be alone," Nora eyed them mischievously, "But you don't have a car. So, it's the backseat for you."

"Bye Ed. Get better soon, because when I'm back in town, it's hockey time, but if you're like this who am I supposed to play with?"

"You could always ask Casey…" The whole family laughed, but Derek just gave Casey a look of 'we tried keeping it a secret'.

Once everyone was buckled in and George began to drive, the questions began pouring out.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"When did you get together?"

"Does anyone else know?"

"You know to be safe, right honey?"

Derek and Casey stared at each other while Nora and George questioned them without even turning their heads. Once it got quiet again, Derek spoke up.

"How did you even find out?" Nora turned around in her seat.

"George saw you and Casey holding hands, and Lizzie kind of, well, hinted at the idea. After of course she told us about her and Edwin." She grinned happily.

"What about her and Ed?" Derek still hadn't heard about it.

"They're dating. Do you have a problem with that?" Casey looked seriously over at Derek.

"Wha- um no. Why would you think that?"

"Well, for starters, you didn't want the news about 'us' to get out. When in reality, Mom and George were _fine_ with it!" She felt her face getting hot. "And what, now you're just fine with Lizzie and Edwin? They're not so different from us!"

"Casey, we both agreed on not telling them! And what do Lizzie and Edwin have to do with anything?"

"Hello? I'm sitting right here!" Lizzie interrupted one of Derek and Casey's many arguments over nothing.

"Derek. I think you have a problem with telling people about our relationship. That doesn't work for me. This," She paused. "Isn't working for me." All anger was gone from her face, replaced with sincerity.

"Casey. Are-are you breaking up with me?" Derek looked straight into her eyes. The whole car was silent.

"Well. Next time we wont ask!" Nora said to George, referring to her numerous questions at the start of the car ride.

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**I'm sorry I left you with another cliffhanger! I couldn't end this chapter…it was supposed to be a lot shorter! Derek and Casey have to work out some things, but they'll be headed off to the US soon. REVIEW!!**


	12. The Best Thing

**Thanks for reviewing! I thought I'd get one more chapter out before I went on vacation for nine days. So after this, I wont be updating until July 24****th.**

**Also, I just wanted to say I got my very first negative review on that last chapter. I'm going to try to fix it by making this chapter more smooth and less rushed. Enjoy!**

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Derek felt his face heat up with embarrassment. She wouldn't break up with him, right? Not in front of their entire family! He watched her, waiting for a response, but all he got was the cold shoulder. Casey looked sadly at him and then out her window for the remainder of the car ride home.

Upon arriving back at the familiar house, Derek followed Casey silently up to her old room, which was empty except for a small table. He shut the door behind him, making Casey jump a little.

"What's going on Case?" Derek shifted uncomfortably. He stuck his hands halfway in his pockets.

"I-I don't know. I just can't help but feel we're better off as friends, that's all." She shrugged like this meant nothing to her.

"Friends. Right." He didn't know what was coming over him. He never gave in this easily. Maybe he really did want to just be friends with her.

"Good. So, I guess we're… B-F-F's now?" Casey laughed quickly and gave Derek a friendly hug, exiting her room. _What…what just happened?_

Walking back into his own empty room, Derek searched his luggage for the bag that held the multiple charms he bought. Once he pulled almost all of his clothing out, he found the bag and took out the charms. Memories of the past few weeks flooded his head. Casey may have been the best thing that ever happened to him. And now she was gone. Okay, well not technically gone, but being friends wasn't good enough for Derek.

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"Emily!" Casey ran over to her best friend, who was standing on her front lawn watching her cousins run in the sprinkler.

"Casey! I heard what happened to Edwin, I'm so sorry! How's he doing?" Concern ran in Emily's voice, but there was a sparkle in her eye.

"Oh, he's doing a lot better. He broke a few ribs and has a concussion, but he'll survive. How are you doing?" The two girls moved from the lawn to Emily's front porch.

"I'm alright. A little nervous about starting college, and a little jealous." She looked at Casey.

"Jealous? Why?"

"A little birdie told me someone has a new boyfriend!" She sang. Casey smiled but rolled her eyes.

"_Had_ a new boyfriend. I told him we should just be friends. And who told you that anyway? I just came back home!"

"Wait, did I hear correctly? You dumped _the_ Derek Venturi! Wow, that's a first. And, to answer your question, word travels fast around here." She winked mischievously but never really answered Casey's question. "Why'd you do it?" Casey was caught off-guard. Why had she done it? She had so much fun with him these past few weeks. Casey stared at a rock while thinking of all the great times they had together.

"Hello? Anybody in there?" Emily waved her hands in front of Casey's face, snapping her back to their conversation.

"Well, Em. Derek wasn't willing to fulfill my romantic needs." Right after she said it, she regretted it. Emily's eyes almost fell out of her head. "No, no! Not like that! I mean he didn't want to announce our relationship to anyone. And I wanted to tell the world." She sighed. "I guess it wasn't meant to be."

"You know, I don't believe in that whole 'your destiny is already chosen' stuff. Obviously, you do. So, all I'm going to say is that I think you choose what you want to happen in your life. And you just chose to let a really great guy go." With that, she picked up her soaking wet cousin and went in her house.

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"Casey! There you are! We're going out to get some ice cream. What flavor do you want?" Nora was ready with a paper and pencil.

"Oh, um, I'm not really in the mood for ice cream. I'm just going to uh, head upstairs." Casey was deep in thought and needed a good night's rest to sort this out.

Casey shifted in her bed, but quickly shifted back when a blinding light hit her eyes. She opened one eye, to find Derek staring at her.

"Derek! Did you open my shades? And why are you in here?" She wasn't that shocked; she even felt comfortable around him still.

"Uh, our flight is in five hours, so we're going to visit Edwin and then head for the airport. Dad and Nora told me to wake you up." His voice was emotionless. He walked out of her room, slamming the door behind him. _That was weird._ She ignored his attitude and hauled her suitcases downstairs, where George put it in the trunk of his car. Within a half hour, they were on their way to the hospital.

"Hey Ed. Just stopped by to say goodbye, and wish you luck in school next year." Edwin waited. "And, to give you this." Derek pulled a hockey stick and an armchair arm cover out from behind his back. Edwin tilted his head as far as it would go before it hurt too much.

"What's this?" He reached out for the armchair cover.

"Well, this is my lucky hockey stick that got me a scholarship into college. I figured you might want it, and UCLA gives us new ones so I can't use it. And the armchair cover, it goes on the arms of my chair. Well, now, _your_ chair." Edwin's face lit up and he pulled Derek into a hug, with some arguing on Derek's part.

Casey watched Derek interact with Edwin and Marti, giving them both gifts that held meaning to him. Casey felt warm and tingly inside watching him. She walked over to Lizzie to give her something she brought. It was a nice gift, but she felt like she stole Derek's idea, even though Derek made no mention of his gift giving.

"Hey Liz. I- I just wanted to give this to you, for always being there for me and being the best sister ever, because I know I can be a handful sometimes." Lizzie and Casey were silent, then burst out in a fit of giggles. "Okay, okay. I'm a handful most of the time. But, you've always stood by me and I want to thank you." Casey handed her sister a gift bag that was filled with tissue paper. Lizzie pulled out two Pointe ballet shoes.

"Oh. Ballet shoes. Thanks." She tried to seem enthusiastic.

"Oh, but look inside them." Casey sat up straight to see over the shoes. Lizzie pulled out a jewelry box. Once she opened it, she immediately smiled and hugged Casey.

"My old soccer necklace! I was wondering where it was! I lost it so long ago!" She put it around her neck and closed the latch.

"Turn it around to the back!" Casey was proud that she made Lizzie happy. Lizzie obediently turned the flat soccer ball over to its other side. Her initials were engraved in perfect cursive.

"No way! Thank you Casey!" They shared another hug before returning to where the rest of their family was sitting.

"Liz, you know I gave you that stuff so you'll never forget me, right?" Casey's voice sounded worried and nervous.

"Of course. And I wouldn't have forgotten you even if you didn't give me anything." She smiled.

"Thanks. And I guess I could take this back then!" Casey pretended to grab the necklace but Lizzie moved back.

"I don't think so." They both laughed.

An hour later felt like a few minutes later, but Derek and Casey were saying their goodbyes for hopefully the last time before heading off to college. Casey was holding back tears, and Derek was trying to get out of the room before someone started to cry. George finally pushed Casey and Derek out of the hospital and drove them to the airport. The said even more goodbyes to him, then got on their plane that was taking them to a Texas airport, where they had gone after receiving the emergency phone call to come home. From there, Casey thought that one day in Arizona couldn't hurt, so they'd go to the Grand Canyon, according to Casey's newly made plans.

Derek went to sleep once the plane was safely in the air, leaving Casey to her thoughts. Did she make a mistake breaking up with Derek? He hadn't been acting the same ever since she did it. She used the long flight to sort out her feelings. Maybe Emily was right. Maybe she _had_ let one of the greatest things that ever happened to her slip away.

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**Okay, I'm thinking there will be one or two more chapters left. This one was boring, but it helped transition back into the usual format and help get Casey and Derek back into the US. Don't forget to review!!!**


	13. The Grandest of Canyons

**Okay, so I couldn't resist writing another chapter before I left for vacation. This will be the second to last chapter.**

**I don't really know how the Grand Canyon tours work, so I'm making everything up. Just pretend it's all correct…**

**I have the rest of the story written out, and I'm hoping to get at least 100 reviews, so keep on reviewing!!**

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"Thank you for flying American Airlines. We would like to welcome you to Amarillo International Airport. As you can see, it is a beautiful sunny day, so go out and enjoy yourselves. Once again, we'd like to thank you for choosing American Airlines. Please remained seated and buckled until the plane has completely stopped moving." The flight attendant smiled and joined the rest of the crew as the plane taxied over to the gate. Derek sighed heavily, causing a family of four to look over his way. Ignoring the curious family, he gently nudged Casey, whose head was resting on Derek's shoulder.

"Derek. I'm sleeping, can't you see that?" Casey mumbled and adjusted her head on his shoulder.

"We're here, Case. Come on, we've got to go soon." He whispered, not wanting to cause a commotion.

"Ugh, fine. I probably have bags under my eyes." She opened her eyes, realized she was sleeping on her new "best friend forever" and shot up, blushing like crazy.

Derek cut an elderly couple trying to exit the plane off and carried their carry-ons above his head. He was practically speed walking over to the luggage carousel, with Casey falling behind him, tripping as she struggled with her bags. "Derek, the least you could do is carry something!" She complained. Derek continued walking towards the suitcases that just started to come around.

"Ooh! That's mine!" Casey grabbed a pink suitcase as it came around. "That too! Oh, and that!" By the time Casey had all her luggage, suitcases and duffel bags surrounded her, while Derek had one suitcase and a carry on bag.

"Derek, could you maybe carry some of my stuff?" Casey was stuck in her spot unless someone helped her with some bags. Derek groaned, but picked up some of her bags anyway. They left for the parking lot, where they were reunited with their car.

"Okay, so, no stopping until we reach the Grand Canyon." Casey pretended to prep herself for the long journey in attempt to make Derek laugh, but he just started to drive. _Oh boy. This is going to be a long ride._

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"Um, I think the next turn is the one we need." Casey studied the map of Arizona, glad to fill the silence that filled the car for the many hours they had been driving. Derek followed her directions, and soon enough, they pulled up to the parking lot of the famous state park. Derek slammed his door shut and walked over to buy tickets from the small building. Casey was left standing in the old parking lot, confused and upset. She knew exactly how to fix everything though.

--------------------------------♥

"The tour starts in ten minutes, so I'm going to go to the bathroom, you should wait where the other tourists are." Derek handed her the passes saying they paid and walked away.

"Do you have any charms for a bracelet?" Once he was out of Casey's sight, he snuck into the gift shop. If he got this many charms so far, he might as well get one more. The woman working pointed in the direction of a rack of charms. They weren't real gold, but they would have to do. He quickly chose one, paid, and ran to meet up with Casey.

--------------------------------♥

"Hi, I'm Casey. Are you going on the tour too?"

"No. We're just standing on this line because we like being in a crowd of sweaty strangers!" The man threw his hands in the air and turned away. Casey stared at the back of his head in disbelief, and then focused her attention on Derek, who came back.

"Man, tourists can get pretty cranky around here!" Casey laughed. Derek raised his eyebrows. Within five minutes, their guide came out of the building and they started their tour.

Two hours later, Casey and Derek were on top of the entire canyon, breeze blowing through their hair. Derek kept sneaking glances at Casey as she twirled around happily. Being so high above everything felt powerful. It felt…exhilarating. It made him think about how lucky he was to have had such a wonderful girlfriend. But that didn't matter to her apparently.

As their group began to descend back to the parking lot and back to reality, Derek decided to try to forget about the past, and start over with Casey.

"So, Casey. Now that we've completed our road trip, what was your favorite city?" She thought about it for a few minutes. Derek thought she was ignoring him, so he walked faster and got ahead of Casey.

"Orlando." He heard from behind him. Was she serious? He thought for sure she'd say 'Washington D.C.' and then he'd ask why, and she would respond with 'that's when we kissed, remember?' and everything would fall into its rightful place again.

"Orlando?" He turned around and said through his clenched teeth. She eyed his mouth and nodded. "I guess I was right." He shook his head.

"Right about what Derek? You're not making any sense!" They continued to walk.

"You really don't care about anything we had! You chose _Orlando_ over Washington D.C.! What, did you enjoy running into Sam there?" Derek's voice was getting louder and louder, and more and more cranky tourists were staring.

"Derek! Calm down! I don't know why I liked Orlando! I liked everywhere we went!" She said at the same volume. "Why do you care so much about where I had the most fun?" Derek stopped in his tracks. He was breathing heavily.

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!"

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**Oooh, cliffhanger. Sorry! I'm going to update tomorrow, because I want to finish this story before I leave for Florida. Please review! Other stories are getting over 200 reviews, and I don't even have 100 yet.**


	14. A Promise

**Last chapter! -tear- Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! **

**I don't own LWD. Obviously.**

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"You- you WHAT?" Casey's eyes widened and it felt like the entire world came to a standstill. Her head started spinning. Derek. Her stepbrother, ex-boyfriend, and friend-loves _her_? She must have been staring blankly for moment too long, because Derek just shook his head and walked towards the parking lot alone. Had she just ruined any relationship she had left with Derek?

Running as fast as she could, she went ahead of the tour group, and within minutes she was back in the dusty old parking lot. She wasn't planning on using her plan so soon, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Derek may have beaten her to the punch, but it didn't mean she couldn't say how she felt.

As she was running to the car, she felt like she was in one of those movies. The ones where the running person is portrayed in slow motion, sweat dripping off their body, running to whatever it was they wanted. And Casey was running towards Derek.

Out of breath and energy, Casey climbed into the air-conditioned car, where Derek was sitting with his head on the steering wheel.

"Derek? Are you okay?" Casey asked, concerned.

"Does it look like I'm okay? I just ruined one of the greatest things I've ever experienced. Would that make you feel like a bag of sunshine?" Casey' s heart melted. She was that important to him? She was about let her feelings pour out, but decided it would be better waiting until they got to UCLA. In other words, she chickened out.

She sighed and leaned back in her chair. Derek lifted his head off the steering wheel, and sluggishly started to drive off to California.

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"Derek, can you believe, that our trip is over? It feels like just yesterday we were saying goodbye and heading for New York!" She was trying to lighten the mood in the car. She deserved everything though. She had broken up with him. She had acted like she didn't like him. She hadn't said how she was feeling after he confessed his love for her. Any other girl would have jumped at the opportunity to say a simple 'I love you too!' back. There was obviously something wrong with her.

"Mmm." Derek grunted in response, breaking her out of her mental rant. He hadn't said one word the entire ride. She looked out the window at the passing cars, eventually falling into a restless sleep.

Derek looked over at Casey who was smiling in her sleep, and wanted to cry, even though he would never admit it. His plans of everything being perfect again were shattered when Casey didn't respond. He took his anger out by continuing to drive and ignoring Casey. He needed to release some steam before talking to her again.

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A few hours and a long nap later, Casey thought she was going to go crazy. Derek still hadn't said anything to her. He hadn't even moved his gaze from the road. Her iPod battery had died, her cell phone wasn't getting service, and all of her books were packed away in one of her many suitcases. With nothing better to do, she decided to play a game. She tried to find as many different state license plates as she could. _I must be going crazy if I'm playing a kiddy game. _

New Mexico. Arizona. Wow, New York. New Mexico. Casey could count the number of different plates she had seen on her fingers, and it had been two hours since her game began. Casey couldn't stand it any longer. She started to cry.

"I CAN'T FIND ANY DIFFERENT LISCENCE PLATES!" When Derek finally turned his head and looked at her like she really _was_ crazy, she added, "Oh no, I'm sorry. Just keep on driving!" She said in tears, as she rifled through her pocketbook looking for a tissue. "Oh, great. No tissues, my mascara's running, and my nose is all stuffy." She burst out in another round of crying. She felt the car slow down. "Derek, what are you doing?" He had pulled the car over. "Derek!" Derek, not saying a word, got out of the car and walked around to the back.

_Oh my gosh. He is leaving me on the side of the road! By myself, to die! _Casey wasn't thinking rationally until Derek sat back in the driver's seat. She stopped crying for a moment.

"Casey, why are you crying?" Derek resisted the urge to wipe away the tears falling down her face.

"Be-because," hiccup, "You h-hate me n-now." She sniffled and wiped her face with her hand. He stared at her. "You see? You are ig," hiccup, "Ignoring me!" Derek didn't care if they were just friends. He tucked a stand of her hair behind her ear.

"Casey. I could _never_ hate you. Ever. Not even when you first moved into my house. Remember?" He smiled, and wiped another falling tear. She laughed a little, and then went back to being upset.

"Yeah, but I didn't say I love you back. How could you not hate me?" _Is the temperature in this car rising? _She turned the air conditioner on and shut the windows.

"How could anyone hate a girl as beautiful and great as you?" She smiled, hopeful. "And, I guess now would be a good time to give you this." He presented her a square jewelry box. A million thoughts were racing through Casey's head, but she opened it anyway. She gasped. Inside, were five beautiful charms, each from one of the different cities they visited.

"Derek! You did this all for me? How? And when? And why?" She asked confused. Derek started pulling the car back onto the road.

"Well, I saw how much you liked your charm bracelet, so I thought I might add to your collection." Casey looked upset. "And, I sort of, well, wanted you to see how much I liked you." Casey grinned.

"Derek Venturi is a huge mushy romantic!" Casey tried to pinch his cheeks but he swatted her hand away. She laughed.

"So, whenever we went shopping, I snuck away and found a jeweler or gift shop and bought them." Casey leaned over and gave him the best hug she could with her seatbelt on. She took all the charms out of the box and carefully placed them in chronological order on her bracelet. Derek was definitely pleased.

Casey now had something to do the rest of the ride. She loved admiring her new charms. She was now positive on what to do about her feelings.

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"Wow." Casey looked at her surroundings. Huge buildings, people walking in every direction, blue skies and the smell of freshly cut grass are just a few of the things Casey was 'wowed' by. Derek parked their car and squinted as he stepped into the heat and sunshine.

"Hey Case! Come on! Let's go find our stuff!" Derek grabbed Casey's hand and pulled her towards one of the buildings.

Following him into the dorms, Casey found that her belongings had been dropped off in her room. She walked in, and was immediately amazed. "No way! My dorm is awesome!" She smiled and looked around. Her roommate had already moved in, seeing as the other bed was made and there were pictures of her. _She seems nice from what I can see._

Derek and Casey went to Derek's dorm now. It was the next building over, so Casey could easily visit. Derek's belongings were inside as well, but the other bed was still empty.

"Wow. These rooms really are nice!" Derek jumped on his bed and tested out its comfort. "Okay, I'll unpack later. Let's go grab something to eat, I'm starving!" Casey rolled her eyes.

They were walking down the stairs, when Casey tripped and fell onto Derek, who struggled to keep them both from falling. His arms gave in, causing them to fall, but luckily only down a few steps. Casey was lying on top of him, on the floor.

"Um…I'll just…get up now." Casey found her voice and stood up, straightening her clothes out. They both stood in the stairwell, staring at each other.

"Derek?" Casey said at the same time Derek said, "Casey?"

"You go first." Derek said. _These stairwells sure can get pretty hot._ Derek was burning. He fanned himself with his hand.

"Oh, okay. I was um, thinking. And I wanted to know if-" She shifted her feet.

"If you didn't really want to be just friends?" Derek stole what she was going to say. She stood there, mouth open, when Derek swooped her close to him and kissed her. She moved her hands through his messy hair. It felt so good to kiss him again. He put his hands on her waist and broke the kiss. She looked at him, flushed, and nodded.

"I don't want to be just friends either." Derek smiled. _She feels the same way! I knew it!_

"Oh yeah? Why not?" He knew why, but wanted to hear it anyway.

"Well," she pretended to think about it. "I don't think I should be in love with my _best friend_." This time, Casey was the one smiling while Derek stood there shocked. She pulled him in for a passionate kiss, and then pulled apart. "Um, can we get out of this stairwell? It's not my idea of romantic!"

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**Five Months Later**

"Hey Case! You wanna drop by my dorm after class? I want you to look over my column for the school paper!" Casey new friend Rachel asked.

"Sorry, Rach. I'm meeting Derek for some lunch!" Rachel smiled and understood completely.

After the class was finally over, she practically sprinted over to the campus café, where she found Derek sitting at a table alone.

"Hey there handsome." She surprised him from coming up behind him. They kissed before Casey sat down across from him.

"So, what's all this for? We usually go out for dinner." Derek just smiled.

"I wanted to surprise you. Casey, I love you more than you'll ever know. And I know we're still way too young to get married, but I think we're old enough for this." He pulled out a ring box from his pocket. Casey gasped, and with shaky hands, opened the box. Inside was a beautiful ring.

"It's a promise ring. It's not an engagement ring, but more like my promise to always be there for you." Derek slipped the ring on Casey's finger.

"Derek!" Her voice cracked. "This is so amazing!" She leaned over the table and kissed him. "I see the road trip is still having the romantic mushy effect on you?" She laughed.

"That road trip changed my life. Didn't it change your life?" He interlocked his fingers with hers.

"More than you'll ever know."

----------------------------♥

**Yay! This story is officially finished! I had major writers block for this last chapter, and I think the ending is just all right, but I'm satisfied with the story. If you want to see Casey's promise ring, go to my profile.**

**Anyway, I got my goal of 100 reviews (Most reviews on any of my stories… Thanks everyone!!) and I came up with some other ideas for future stories. I'm brainstorming on two new LWD stories, and a possible sequel to this one. So keep an eye out for those. I would like to thank each and everyone person who reviewed! You all made this story a million times better!! Thank you so much for reading!**

**Kallie Lynne**


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